BBC produces chilling documentary/dramatization
Scott McPherson
in influenza and infectious diseases
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3 Comments
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21 References
Other bloggers have noted the appearance of the BBC pandemic influenza documentary/drama "Pandemic," part of its science series called "Horizons." Pity the show is not broadcast on BBC America, because it is the most chilling treatise on the subject of pandemic influenza that I have ever seen, and it needs to be seen by as many people as possible. The link to the BBC Horizons Pandemic page can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/pandemic/ .
The entire 90-minute documentary can be seen at this link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7443717071229476088&q=pandemic+duration%3Along&total=73&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5
Back to the show. The program shifts between interviews with several scientists and healthcare professionals, while giving a fictional backstory about three individuals. They are a Cambodian man at the wrong place at the decidedly wrong time; an American businessman returning from a Hawaiian meeting with Chinese counterparts; and a young British woman.
The BBC writers splice in factual commentary from such experts as influenza rock star Dr. John Oxford in London; Dr. Gregory Poland, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic; Dr. Jim Robertson of the UK's National Institute for Biological Standards and Control; and several other experts, including a doctor from Georgia (that's Georgia as in Go Bulldogs!).
Of all the commentary, Poland's and Oxford's are the most chilling. Oxford has been doing influenza research for decades, and belongs to that too-small cadre of global experts that includes Dr. Robert Webster and Dr. Graeme Laver. 
Oxford's comments can be savored via this program; his insight into the link between the 1918 pandemic and the subsequent pandemic of encephalitis lethargica (as shown in the film "Awakenings") is virtually bulletproof. Here is some advice from Oxford, directly from the BBC Website:
I don't think stockpiling four months of food and water is necessary - I think that would be overreacting. But what you can do is have a strategy and be aware of how the virus spreads. So in the event of a pandemic, it might for example make sense not to go to work during rush hour to avoid crowded tube trains. Or if a friend calls and says he's feeling ill, it might not be the best idea to pop round to see him straight away, and so on.
On any one day, about five per cent of the community will be ill, so 95% of the population will still be perfectly capable of going about their daily business. In fact, one of my biggest concerns is the worried well - people who will lock themselves away during a pandemic. That could amount to a huge number. And if that happens, and everybody goes into panic mode, the economy will collapse.
John Oxford, Professor of Virology at the University of London
We get so wrapped around the axle of how many people will be sick -- we all use the figures 30% and 40% interchangeably -- that it is important to remember that all 30% will not be sick all at the same time. Those figures are aggregates. So Professor Oxford's belief that on any given day during a pandemic only 5% of the population is actually too ill to report to work is significant. As Oxford notes, the "worried well" are the ones we must convince to come to work, unless they are tending to ill loved ones or watching small children. Also interesting is his statement that he continues to keep the M2 inhibitor Amantadine in his icebox. Amantadine is an antiviral designed to stop the influenza A's M2 lipid coat from dissolving as it enters a cell. Unfortunately, virtually all Influenza As -- including H5N1 -- are Amantadine-resistant. But he figures it's worth a try anyway.
What separates this BBC documentary/drama from others, such as the excellent National Geographic piece from 2005 and the 2006 ABC TV movie "Fatal Contact - Bird Flu in America," are the videos. I had never seen still photos or video of the dying/dead tigers at the Bangkok Zoo in 2006, nor had I ever seen the actual die-off at China's Qinghai Lake in April-May 2005, nor had I ever seen actual newsreel footage of post-Spanish Flu sufferers of encephalitis lethargica. The photos and videos are outstanding. Also chilling are the words from Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist and forecaster Dr. Catherine Macken. Dr. Macken's words should be taken very seriously. She recounts how, in the aftermath of 9/11, the US government charged Los Alamos to come up with the most plausible bioattack upon Americans. Homeland Security was expecting anthrax, or maybe smallpox, or some other pathogen. Instead, LANL told Homeland the most likely scenario was an H5N1 pandemic.
If you only have one opportunity to get someone to watch a documentary about H5N1, this BBC documentary is the one to watch. It is absolutely superb. You can also download it to Sony PSP or iPOD video.
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Reader Comments (3)
The URL you give for the 90-minute documentary links only to a 1 1/2 minute advertisement for the documentary. If you have another link, please post it; I would like to see the entire video and share the URL with friends/family.
Kathy,
My bad. The correct link is up!
Sorry.
Scott
Scott,
Thanks for supply this information, I but say, I never put two and two together until now, I always believe it would be a world event, but nothing like this short film showed.
Thanks again,
Mark Schlaudraff