As an update to my posting yesterday, an interesting story was published in the Globe&Mail today. According to the article, Canada Customs has started using dogs at international airports to sniff for bird feathers and bird feces on the shoes of inbound passengers from select European countries. I guess since Canada had the SARS crisis in Ontario, it is trying to be vigilant with avian flu. This is a good precaution, however it will be difficult (read: impossible) to stop avian flu coming into Canada via migrating birds. Also a bit alarming was the report out of Germany yesterday that a cat was found infected with the virus – this marks the first time that the flu has jumped species in Europe.
I joined a short discussion in my company’s lunchroom yesterday about our healthcare system. The discussion was about how our health system is facing unprecedented pressures due to the aging population and escalating healthcare costs. I unintentionally ended the discussion when I mentioned that an avian flu outbreak would likely bring our already stressed healthcare system to a halt. That promptly brought the discussion to an end and people seemed to get up and leave the lunchroom soon after I brought up my concern about avian flu. People don’t seem to want to talk about things they can’t control. I think it is considered Canadian politeness not to talk about potentially catastrophic events. Granted, if I was a non-Christian I wouldn’t want to talk about it either. To a Christian, these end time events are a call to “…look up, for [our] redemption draws nigh.”
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