Infectious Processes When the Grid Goes Down

We know it’s coming.  There are just too many reports of too many military-age males crossing our border, and financed by our tax dollars to boot.  Too many Middle Eastern and Chinese and Russian enemies.  There is no way that they won’t take down our power grid, and sooner rather than later.  And they know that so many so-called Americans will roll over without their electronic pacifiers.  They can take us down without a fight. 

Well, not all of us.  But that’s for another discussion.

When the grid goes down, infectious processes will be one of the biggest challenges we face.  And the longer the power is out, the more challenging it will become.  For a variety of reasons, diseases we seldom see in America today will re-emerge.

• Declining sanitation.  No power means that there is no water.  Or rather, no clean water for drinking or washing hands.  No flushing of toilets.  No waste being carried away.  Those who prepare will have a good supply of water stored and the means for purifying more whether by boiling or filters or chemicals, and preferably all options.  But most Americans are not prepared to that extent and the diseases that issue from lack of clean water will affect all of us to some degree.  This will begin within the first few days.
• Exploding disease vector populations.  Without power to run air-conditioners and without chemicals and power to maintain swimming pools, mosquitoes will breed and bite and spread their diseases.  West Nile, Zika, malaria, and other tropical diseases carried by mosquitoes will make an appearance here.  As people become refugees seeking more favorable conditions, they will become more exposed to fleas and ticks as well.  And most will not be prepared to prevent bites and disease transmission or treat the diseases that arise.  This will begin within the first few months.
• Declining immunization rates.  Immunizations are credited with saving more lives than any other modern medical advancement (though I would argue that clean water should take first place).  However, immunization rates have been declining in recent years due to parents’ concerns about their safety.  At the same time in the wake of the Covid mess, we now have a generation of parents increasingly wary of Big Pharma’s vaccines.  Americans are still protected from the childhood diseases that formerly claimed so many lives, though every once in a while we hear of new disease outbreaks.  Unfortunately, with so many illegals coming in, many of whom are not immunized, that’s going to change.  Grid-down, even if parents want to vaccinate their children, they won’t be able to without functioning laboratories and hospitals.  Chickenpox won’t cause too much trouble; the real concerns will lie in cases of measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and polio.  These will take several months to appear, but they will come.
• Biological warfare.  Then we’ll have all the biological agents stoking fears.  Anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia, typhus, measles, Ebola, and yellow fever are easily weaponized.  The vast majority of physicians have no experience in recognizing or treating them, which means we’ll be totally on our own to diagnose and treat our family members.  And these diseases could hit us at any time—from the day of the attack to the end of hostilities. 
• Depletion of medical resources.  Doctors, nurses, and the rest of the population will be caught completely off guard.  (Really, how many people, medical personnel or otherwise, are even remotely aware of the threats facing us?)  These medical personnel will use supplies at the rate they always have, having learned nothing from the early days of Covid, and expending precious resources they will not be able to restock. 

The window for preparing is gradually closing for now.  Soon it will shut altogether.  Make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need medically for the long-term.   

• Clean water is the first priority, and having several ways to purify it would be ideal.   
• Permethrin and bug repellents to prevent exposure to insect vectors and doxycycline (lots of it) for treating diseases.   
• Immunizations if you do them; anti-virals, antibiotics, and herbs to treat those diseases if you don’t immunize. 
• Off-grid medical texts for managing treatment for bioweapons as well as the other diseases. 

Links to related posts:

Preparing for Bioweapons:  Anthrax  

Preparing for Bioweapons:  Smallpox

Preparing for Biological Warfare 

Permethrin—Don’t Bug Out Without It  

Typhus in TEOTWAWKI  

Prepping for Yellow Fever  

Typhoid Fever—It’s In the Water  

Measles:  What Is Your Risk?  Should You Be Prepared?  

More Mosquito-Borne Diseases—Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, and West Nile