# 4550
Every 6 months or so I present a round up of pandemic flu related videos from responsible and reliable sources around the Internet (That's a personal determination on my part, and quite arbitrary).
The last time I did so was in August of last year, so it has been a while. Over time, some of these videos disappear, or the links change, so you should view them while they are available.
Today’s list combines videos (and audio podcasts) that address the current H1N1 pandemic along with disaster preparedness, and concerns over the possible emergence of a more virulent pandemic sometime down the road.
Our first stop is at Flu.gov, the HHS’s main portal of pandemic flu information for the public. Here you will find more than a dozen videos providing advice for pregnant women, businesses, and the general public on dealing with the H1N1 pandemic virus.
While flu activity may be low right now in North America, experts fully expect the flu to return later this year, so this information remains relevant.
I’ve highlighted just three of the videos below, follow the link to view them all.
Know What to Do About the Flu Webcast Archive
December 21, 2009
Webcast for Health Care Providers
Guests:
- Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General
- Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
- Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
- Dr. Nancy Nielsen, Immediate Past President, American Medical Association
Go to our Health Professionals page.
November 18, 2009
Diabetes and the Flu
Guests:
- Dr. Beth Bell, Nat'l Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
- Dr. Ann Albright, Nat'l Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC
August 27, 2009
Pregnant Women and New Moms
Guests:
- Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, HHS
- Tina Chin, White House Council on Women
- Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, CDC
- Dr. Tony Fauci, National Institutes of Health/NIAD
- Dr. Laura Riley, OB/GYN - Mass General Hospital
- Tina Johnson, American College of Midwives
Not to be overlooked are the CDC Podcasts on a variety of health issues, including pandemic and seasonal influenza. Featuring both audio and video presentations, there are literally hundreds of these short presentations available.
Social media, in particular videos and podcasts, are quickly becoming a favored means of government agencies to disseminate information.
Over the past year, the amount of media available from these entities has literally exploded.
Many now have Youtube channels where you may find hours of videos on a variety of subjects including pandemic influenza, disaster preparedness, and other public safety concerns.
Here are but a few of the channels available.
Government YOUTUBE Channels of Interest
From READY.GOV some preparedness videos.
Older Americans Video
(5 minutes) - Flash Format – 20Mb
Ready Pets Video
(5 minutes) - Flash Format – 16Mb
Americans with Disabilites
(5 minutes) - Flash Format – 18Mb
Ready America's Instructional Video
(3 minutes) - Flash Format – 12Mb
And not to be outdone, you’ll find more than 300 videos available on the American Red Cross Youtube Channel.
Last December PBS unveiled their documentary and companion website Anatomy of a Pandemic which may be viewed online.
As part of the PBS Newshour documentary Anatomy of a Pandemic – Rear Admiral Ann Schuchat M.D., Director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) and Michael T. Osterholm, Director of CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota – answered a number of viewer questions regarding the documentary and the pandemic virus.
You can either listen online, save the MP3 file (about 18 Mbytes) to your computer, or read the transcript from the links below.
And From Around the Net.
I was first turned onto the TED Talks when a friend sent me a link to the winner of 2006’s TED Prize, Dr. Larry Brilliant's presentation on his dream of a new global system that can identify and contain pandemics before they spread.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. Each year they hold a 4 day long event at Long Beach, California where 50 people are urged to give the 18-minute talk of their lives.
And what talks they are!
If you’ve never seen this presentation by Dr Larry Brilliant, I urge you to watch it now.
(Click Image to view video)
Ted calls these talks Ideas Worth Spreading. And that they certainly are.
This next one is Dr. Nathan Wolfe’s TED talk about stopping the next pandemic at the source.
(Click Image to view video)
BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL - Prepared by Public Health Seattle and King County (leaders in pandemic awareness and preparation in the US), this 20 minute video is a free download from the Internet or is available as a free DVD.
While probably geared to a more severe pandemic than we may be facing . . . If you watch just one video today . . . make it this one.
A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN M. BARRY - Historian and author John M. Barry, whose seminal work The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History has probably done more to enlighten us on the events of the 1918 Spanish Flu than other book in history, visited MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and participated in a conversation about his book.
Michael Greger, M.D.
Bird Flu: A Virus Of Our Own Hatching - The lecture based on his critically acclaimed book on bird flu, by Michael Greger. MD. An entertaining speaker who deals well with a disturbing subject; factory farming practices that have exacerbated the growth of zoonotic diseases worldwide.
His book is freely available online here, and is highly recommended.
An absolutely terrific hour-long presentation on pandemic influenza and other Emerging infectious diseases is available from the University of California.
It is well paced, well produced, and geared largely to health care professionals, but not overly technical either. This program discusses Influenza, SARS, Ebola, MRSA and other emerging infectious diseases.
Disaster Preparedness: Influenza and Emerging Infections
From: UCtelevision | October 02, 2009
UCTV has several other Disaster Related videos which I’ve not had a chance to view. They are archived HERE.
For those with a desire to delve into the deep end of the science pool, Vincent Racaniello’s Virology Blog is a tremendous resource, with his online Virology course and TWiV (This Week In Virology) and TWiP (This Week In Parasitism) podcasts.
And last but not least, Sharon Sanders at FluTrackers has conducted a number of high profile influenza-related radio interviews which are archived on the Radio Sandy Springs website.
A listing of just a few of them include:
03/01/10 Guests Richard Stapleton and Andrew Wilson
01/11/10 Guest Revere of Effect Measure
01/04/10 Guest Vincent Racaniello, PhD
11/02/09 Guest Dr. David Fedson
08/17/09 Guest William Schaffner, MD
08/10/09 Guest Author John Barry
05/26/09 Guest Dr. Michael Osterholm
This list gets longer, and more diverse, with every posting. Quite obviously, `new media’, personified by the videos and podcasts listed above, are here to stay.
