Cat Ellis - Prepping for a Pandemic: Life-Saving Supplies, Skills and Plans for Surviving an Outbreak

This book is dedicated to every reader and audience member who e-mailed me with questions about pandemics. This is for you.

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Text copyright 2016 Cat Ellis. Concept and design copyright 2016 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the US by:

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-504-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015937575

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Acquisitions editor: Kelly Reed

Project editor: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Paula Dragosh

Proofreader: Renee Rutledge

Design and layout: what!design @ whatweb.com

Cover artwork: female swissmacky/shutterstock.com, grunge texture Alexey Pushkin/shutterstock.com

Index: Sayre Van Young

PLEASE NOTE: This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked events, brands, or other products mentioned or pictured within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality events, brands, and other products mentioned and pictured in this book.

Table of Contents

Contents

Many of us believe that the possibility of a deadly pandemic occurring is implausible. After all, we live in an advanced society where we are witnessing some of the greatest medical achievements in history. But all the medical breakthroughs in the world will not prepare us for dealing with a large-scale pandemic. This type of natural disaster is longer lasting and harder felt than most and is both volatile and devastating in its own right.

Its a big gamble to think that were immune from this type of disaster reaching us. It wasnt that long ago that the 1918 Spanish flu hit with such force that it tested every parameter of life as we knew it. The Spanish flu came in three waves and was called the greatest medical holocaust in history. As The Preppers Blueprint explains:

because of a rare shift of genetic material in the virus, no one had been able to build an immunity to the virus. The death toll was estimated at between 30 million and 50 million people worldwide. It moved so fast that within the first 6 months, 25 million people had caught the Spanish Flu. More people died in one year of this flu than in the entire 4 years of the medieval Black Plague. By turning into a vicious form of pneumonia, this strain of influenza killed people, often within hours of the first signs of illness.... So many people died at once that there was a shortage of morticians, coffins and gravediggers. Morgues were forced to stack bodies like cordwood in the hallways and mass graves were dug to try and deal with all of the corpses in an effort to prevent even more health risks. Public health ordinances were created to try to contain the pandemic, to little avail.

Its not far-fetched to think that we could once again see another outbreak like this. In fact, many scientists believe that its just a matter of time before history repeats itself. Illnesses once considered eradicated are beginning to show signs of life again. This could be because of our population-dense communities and ease in transportation. In 2015 visitors at Disneyland found themselves exposed to measles that most likely originated in the Philippines.

In this day and age, we must expect the unexpected and accept that if we were to face a crisis in which medications, sanitation, and other modern standards and resources were unavailable, these deadly diseases would quickly spread and have the capacity to cause a devastating disaster the world has not seen for a century.

In this indispensable book, Cat Ellis explains how quickly a pandemic emergency can overwhelm a community by exposing cracks in how unprepared our hospitals are for handling highly infectious diseases, how our transportation systems will be shut down, and how quickly a frightened population can descend into acts of crime and violence. As unsettling as this sounds, it only emphasizes the importance of having your own personal plan for survival.

We must keep in mind that were never safe from bacteria, viruses, and diseases, but we can prepare accordingly. Cat points out that to better prepare for pandemics, we must understand the diseases in question: how they communicate and how they survive in nature. Only then can we find the answers we need to protect ourselves. In this book, she lists the diseases likely to spread after a disaster, and actionable steps to take in your preparedness planning.

Cat Ellis and I share a common appreciation for natural remedies. In her first book, Preppers Natural Medicine, she asks the reader point-blank, What would you do if there were no pharmacy? In a postdisaster event, we may not have access to pharmacies, hospitals, and modern medical care. Her focus on herbal remedies creates a balanced and layered medical approach that should be part of any well-rounded preparedness plan. This is what I believe sets this book apart from other pandemic manuals.

Deadly diseases and disasters go hand in hand. This book helps you understand the many overarching themes that emerge in the discussion of pandemic preparedness and shows you ways to get ready for each one. In a time of uncertainty, equipping yourself with knowledge and the necessary tools needed to survive a pandemic will keep you and your family ahead of the problem. Cat says it perfectly in the book, Pandemics will happen. When, where, what, for how long, and how bad will it be? I dont know. No one knows. What I do know, however, is that being prepared means that you and your loved ones stand a greater chance of surviving something as devastating and as drawn out as a pandemic.

TESS PENNINGTON

Founder, Ready Nutrition, and the author of The Preppers Cookbook and The Preppers Blueprint

Ever since I started my website, www.HerbalPrepper.com, I have been fortunate to have an active, engaging, and inquisitive readership and podcast audience. My readers and listeners never fail to push me to investigate more and look into scenarios I might not have considered. To get their questions answered, I have had to leave my comfort zone as an herbalist and reach out to doctors, nurses, EMTs, and former combat medics to find answers. I have spent untold hours reading medical studies on various illnesses and conventional treatments, and seeking out evidence-based alternatives. I am a better herbalist today because of my audience and the friendships forged with the mainstream medical field.

While I was working on my first book, Preppers Natural Medicine: Lifesaving Herbs, Essential Oils, and Natural Remedies for When There Is No Doctor, the media was focused on outbreaks of two deadly diseases. The first was Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a new, viral, respiratory infection with the potential for respiratory failure and a high mortality rate. It was especially deadly if the patient also suffered from a chronic illness, with diabetics having the highest risk of death.