Customer Reviews

Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While I'm not going to be travelling anytime soon to a bird flu type area, you still hear so much about it in the news and everyone has a different opinion that you don't know what's true and what's not. I know that Dr Marc Siegel is meant to be highly regarded as a doctor and I thought that this would clear up the fact from fiction. I found good info in here. He doesn't think we should ignore what we hear in the news, but at the same time it might be a little over-hyped. Personal stock-piling of Tamiflu etc might be of no good at all when you don't need to be taking it. That's when people become resistant to these drugs and when you do need them, your immune won't accept them. He thinks more should be done to immunise the birds themselves. It is heavy reading - so much more to talk about than what my review will allow for, but it's really interesting - even if you (like me) won't need to worry about being in a bird-flu area. At least after reading this, you will have a much clearer idea about this disease and form your own opinions on your own health regarding this and even just with the regular flu. You'll be more concious about your chances for either catching flu in general or if you have it, spreading it to other people. He also speaks in laymans terms which makes it so much more easy to understand and absorb. Good book.

I think Dr. Siegel has taken a very rational view of the likelihood of an avian flu epidemic and I always like to read his books because of the way he interprets and understands the factual issues. Sure, there may be a spread of bird flu, but it's not very likely and he encourages people to be aware of the possibility but not go into hiding to avoid it. He does agree s that it might be a good idea in general to have emergency supplies of food and water around but in an method of downplaying any fear attached to avian flue, not not label them for bird flu use, because that gives these supplies too much prominence.
I have heard Dr. Siegel many times on radio and seen him on TV and have always been impressed by his command of information and his logical conclusions.

Siegel believes that it is not likely that the bird flu will mutate to human form, and that even if it does, it will be less lethal than currently. In addition, generally unreported evidence from Hong Kong (about 16% of those tested had antibodies to the H5N1 virus) indicates it is less virulent than believed.

Siegel also suggests looking at the downward trend in U.S. flu pandemic deaths - about 500,000 in the 1918 Spanish Flu, 70,000 in the 1957 Asian Flu pandemic, and 34,000 during the 1968 Hong Kong Flu. He attributes this to improved sanitation and the use of pneumonia vaccines (pneumonia causing about half the deaths attributed to flu). Finally, he also points out that cooking poultry kills 100% of the flu virus.

The greatest problem with the avian flu, according to Siegel, is our tendency to panic and over-react. He does not recommend that citizens stockpile Tamiflu because it is expensive, only has about a three-year shelf life, and most citizens would probably waste it because they wouldn't know when to properly use it.

Siegel's "Bottom-Line:" We should be focusing more on the pandemic we already have - AIDS/HIV.

Superb. Dr. Marc Siegel's book "Bird Flu" portrays a concise, realistic and informative outlook on a media bred epidemic: fear and anxiety. Certainly an epidemic from bird flu is possible, I know of no one who disagrees. One, however, needs not confuse the terms possibility with probability. The irrational belief that the bird flu virus has a greater chance of mutating to humans in opposition to the thousands of other viruses currently in existence is unfounded. Certainly we should not remain naïve of such possibilities but we also need to take into consideration the probability of an epidemic from one particular virus that has yet to master the chain of specific mutations it would need in order to become pandemic. Even if this virus mutated to infect humans on a large scale, who is to say that its virility and potential deadly effects would also not alter and wither. If we resort to stockpiling antidotes to this one particular virus, must we then stockpile antidotes for every other potential viral metamorphosis? It is not only impossible to achieve, it is also illogical to think that we should. More research to develop means of developing appropriate vaccines quickly as well as global containment preparedness would be better served. To Dr. Siegel I say "BRAVO" and I hope that you continue educating your readers with such rational approaches.

Unlike the last reviewer, who seems to see danger lurking in every adverse event, I like Dr. Siegel's approach that indicates a pandemic is not created by easily occurring events. In reality, several steps must occur before a pandemic could develop. That these steps would all actually occur should not be assumed.

Dr. Siegel does a good job in presenting a balanced appraisal of the risk; it does a disservice to this enlightened voice when a reviewer clearly seems not to have read the entire book.

If all medical pundits were as knowledgeable and well reasoned as Dr. Siegel, there might be far less alarm, less fear-mongering, and therefore less profit in medical books -- but there might be more genuinely helpful information for those of us who need to know.

Dr. Siegel, in this book and in his many articles in the popular press and media appearances, takes the line that people are TOO AFRAID of the possibility of an influenza pandemic. There may be a few such people, but on the contrary, almost all of those who encounter his viewpoints are NOT AFRAID ENOUGH to take the precautions they ought to. Reading this book will reinforce their complacency.

Here's a quote from page 18 of his book:

Should I prepare emergency supplies
of food and water just in case?

Absolutely not. We've been asking one another this question
ever since experts told us that the year 2000 bug in
our computers would shut down communications and
banking nationwide.
Sinister things scare us out of proportion to their
actual risk of affecting us, and we respond, quite naturally,
by wanting to be afraid. But bird flu can be seen as
one in a long line of things we've been warned about, and
for which we supposedly need some kind of "safe room"
with an ample supply of food and water just in case.
[end of quote]

Three comments about this passage:

1)It gives the "year 2000 bug" as an example of an unfounded fear. Does Dr. Siegel realize that many computer professionals worked long and hard, and many companies spent millions of dollars, to prevent the Y2K meltdown from happening, as it certainly would have if the mitigation efforts had not been successful?

2)It conflicts with the advice of the U.S. government, which states, at their "Individuals and Families Planning" page at www.pandemicflu.gov, "Stock a supply of water and food. During a pandemic you may not be able to get to a store. Even if you can get to a store, it may be out of supplies. Public waterworks services may also be interrupted. Stocking supplies can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages and disasters."

3)It even conflicts with what Siegel says on his page 37, "In the United States, we are dependent on other societies for many of our major products. In the event of a major pandemic, we might be cut off, so our government needs to improve on its domestic supply of essential goods, from food to energy to medicine."

Siegel seems not to realize that under major pandemic conditions, domestic as well as international commerce would be impaired, with absenteeism and illness resulting in shortage of workers for many essential tasks. Supply chain disruptions (for every sort of commerce) and insufficient surge capacity (for the medical care system) are possibilities that need to be planned for. Siegel seems blissfully unaware of these dangers.

With regard to previous reviewers, who state that Siegel is in favor of stockpiling food, water, flashlights and batteries (but only if you DON'T call them "pandemic preparations"), I'd like to see citations for those claims. My use of Amazon's book searching capacities for these topics in this book came up empty.

David Jodrey, Ph.D.

Don't bother with this book unless you enjoy being talked down to by a condescending physician. He treats the readers as if they are imbeciles. The quality of the writing and research is abominable, and it is obvious that the author is just trying to make a buck off book sales. If you want the facts about avian influenza, don't read this. You won't find any facts or advice here.

As "bd" points out, in response to an earlier review, Dr. Siegel does advocate having emergency supplies of food and water. It is also important to note that he discourages labelling them as "for bird flu use", because to do so would increase panic.

Dr. Siegel's new book, Bird Flu, is a careful mixture of history and personal story, of birds and people. This balanced portrayal tracks avian influenza throughout history and in recent times, man's attempts to cope with it. Dr. Siegel has lengthy interviews with the top avian flu experts in the world, and he weighs the pandemic risks of the current H5N1 bird flu that is currently receiving so much attention. He tells us how to prepare, but also how not to overreact. This terrific book is very informative interesting reading.

Marc Siegel, MD does not believe there will be a bird flu pandemic. On page 18 he says, "I do not think a massive bird flu pandemic that kills many millions of people worldwide is about to happen..." He then explains all the reasons why a major epidemic is unlikely to strike. He goes further to say, "Currently fear of bird flu is much more a human problem than bird flu itself." In fact, he devotes a whole chapter to the issue of fear and how to deal with it in your life.

Essentially, Siegel's take on the "Asian avian flu", strain H5N1, is this:

1. There is nothing to worry about yet. And it is unlikely that there will be anything to worry about in the future. Even if the flu virus mutates, scientists and modern medicine will address it when the time comes.
2. The Bird Flu hysteria will likely go the way of other epidemic scares: SARS, AIDS, West Nile, Lyme disease, etc.
3. Physicians are the best ones to handle treatment issues for the masses, no need to stockpile remedies like Tamiflu, Renzala, or other remedies.
4. The government is the best agent to distribute vaccines, when and if they become available.
5. This is much ado about nothing, by and large. The best thing people can do for a long and healthy life is to eat sensibly and exercise regularly.

I wonder if the families of the two hundred dead victims of Bird Flu virus H5N1 would agree. It seems to me there is something more ominous here than just another influenza strain. This one kills half of the people who get it in a matter of a few days.

I suspect the proper response to the Bird Flu lies somewhere between hysteria and denial. This book, "Bird Flu: Everything you need to know about the next pandemic" stakes out the position firmly with the latter. Don't worry, be happy.

Let's hope Siegel is right. But if he isn't...