The Bird Flu Preparedness Planner: What it is. How it spreads. What you can do. (Paperback)

by Grattan Woodson (Author)
Key Phrases: seasonal flu, major pandemic, pandemic flu, The Bird Flu, United States, Spanish Flu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Why Take the Chance?

The Bird Flu is real. It's deadly. And it's spreading. Within the next year it could threaten your home, your livelihood, your family and even your life. It may not become the pandemic many experts now fear, but do you really want to take the chance of being totally unprepared?

This book is not hype. It's not scare tactics. It's the facts: what avian influenza is and what it can become from a physician who understands not only the bird flu, but what you realistically can and should do to protect your loved ones. Inside you'll find:

• A brief history of flu pandemics (like the 1918 flu)
• The current state of the bird flu
• Possible consequences of a flu epidemic
• How to prevent infection for you and your family
• Your personal medical and supply kit
• What to do if someone is infected

There’s no better preparation than information. Before you make any decisions, get the facts from the doctor who knows.

About the Author
Grattan Woodson, MD FACP, is currently an attending physician at the Druid Oaks Health Center in Decatur, Georgia. He completed his internal medicine training at Columbia University and soon after joined the full-time faculty of Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Woodson became concerned about avian influenza after learning about the first human cases in Hong Kong in 1997, and he has studied and followed the virus ever since. He originally authored this book in order to prepare his patients for what could become a worldwide catastrophic event.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: HCI (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757304982
• ISBN-13: 978-0757304989
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,495 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There IS something you can do to get ready for the bird flu, November 19, 2005

By	David Jodrey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm the editor of this book. Dr. Woodson has written a guide explaining why human-to-human bird flu is (probably) coming - at an uncertain date, with an unknowable severity. However, it might be soon, and it might be pretty bad. If it is as severe as the 1918 pandemic, then the medical facilities will be overwhelmed with patients. Under those circumstances, staying home to avoid infection, and home care of those who fall ill, are by far the better options. This book explains how to do that. The prudent thing to do is to prepare - even though you don't know for sure what will happen - because the consequences of NOT being prepared are far worse than the effort involved in getting ready to handle what might (or might not, we admit) be coming soon. Sooner or later there WILL be a pandemic - those who are ready will fare far better than those who are not.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Preparing for the Bird Flu, February 5, 2006

By	H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

While this book has fewer than a hundred pages, it is packed full of useful information, information that may save your life. Dr. Woodson discusses the bird flu, comparing it to the flu pandemic of 1918-1919, vaccines and what you can do in preparation for a possible pandemic. He suggests that you make sure that you have a will and life insurance, that you get both a flu shot (against the usual seasonal flu) and a Pneumovax vaccination-- while these do not prevent you from getting avian flu, you will be protected from flu and pneumonia, thus making your chances of surviving bird or avian flu much better-- and that you stock up on nonperishable foods, medical supplies and other necessities such as flashlights and shortwave radios. The author includes lists of supplies you will need, along with a section called "Flu Survival Kit." There is also an informative chapter on how to care for a flu victim, should you find yourself in that position. (In the event of a major pandemic hospitals will be overwhelmed.) The book also has other resources listed on the subject of bird flu, a series of maps showing the rapid spread of the earlier 1918 pandemic across the United States and concludes with endnotes to support the author's statements.

Dr. Woodson also prints a letter found in a trunk in 1959 from a Dr. N. R. Grist, a military doctor who treated flu victims at a U. S. Army base at Camp Bevens near Boston. Dated September 20, 1918, the letter is written to someone named Burt, apparently another military doctor since Grist mentions that "there is a possibility that you will be assigned here for duty." This poignant letter puts a human face on the the 1918 pandemic in a way that graphs and charts and figures never can.

The author says in the "Introduction" that he wrote this manual for his patients, to "inform them about this growing health threat and to provide them with practical guidance on how they and their families can survive." He succeeds admirably in achieving his purpose as he writes in clear but informative language that anyone can understand.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GET THIS BOOK, February 12, 2006

By	Steven A. Herr (Jackson, Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For months now I have been watching the bird flu advance in our direction, and getting more concered as it picks up speed. As of this writing it has advanced to Africa and western Europe, although it has not yet mutated to a form easily passed from human to human. Perhaps God will have mercy on us, and it will not ever reach the stage where we will experience the pandemic that the world's health officials fear. If it does, though, we will be deep doo-doo, as a former president would have put it.

During the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, tens of millions of people died around the world, with over a half million in the United States. The Spanish flu's kill rate was 10%. The bird flu - if it mutates to attack humans - has a kill rate of 50%, and people are living much more concentrated in the cities that they were a hundred years ago.

With all of this in mind, it only makes sense to make some sort of preparations. Dr. Woodson's book is a sane, no-nonsense look at what could happen and what to do to prepare. He draws upon lessons learned from the Spanish flu (which, by the way, was itself a mutated bird flu.) and makes recommendations for action that most people can easily follow and afford. One particularly disturbing section was a series of maps that showed how the Spanish flu covered the entire United States in just four weeks. This was when people were much less concentrated and much less mobile.

The fact that the book is so inexpensive is a big indication that he wants to get the word out to as many people as possible, and is not out to make a quick buck over people's fears. I have already bought several copies to give to others, and have encouraged friends to do likewise.

Investing in this book will be money well spent.