@ www.theotherpress.ca News Aftermath of 7.7 magnitude earthquake Concerns over emergency response time By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer 7.7 magnitude arthquake hit British Columbia’s north-central coast on Saturday, October 27, triggering a tsunami warning. However, the largest waves generated by the quake were a mere 69 centimetres and the aftershocks were of no consequence either. Damage was minimal; other than some broken possessions and some areas losing power, there were no losses to report. Once it had been established that there was no real danger, attention turned to the response time by Emergency Management BC (EMBC). While the earthquake struck at approximately 8:04 p.m., EMBC didn’t send out a public tsu- nami warning until 8:55 p-m. (via Twitter). The lack of official news left local representatives to act independently. Lisa Kendall, the emer- gency coordinator for Skidegate, said that, “Anything that’s hard to stand up in for more than a minute, you go to higher ground.” She also mentioned that many were quick to take matters into their own hands, “By the time we got to the fire hall, 15 minutes after the earthquake, there was already steady streams of cars going up to the high ground. People went and grabbed all the elders, their relatives.” Carol Kulesha, mayor of the Village of Queen Charlotte, recognized the late response too, “There was a delay,” though similarly to Kendall, said that, “But we didn’t depend on that. We got notification directly from the source. We under- stand we’re remote and that no one is going to come in the beginning to take care of us. We just put our plan into effect.” Justice Minister Shirley Bond didn’t seem overly concerned about the response. “We’re continuing to analyse the response as we work our way through the day. Local authorities responded well, and their emergency plans seem to have worked well.” She would continue, “Obviously, minutes and No silver bullets for superbugs Preparing for a world without antibiotics By Elliot Chan, Contributor tt an annual assessment released in mid-Octo- ber, the World Health Organization (WHO) addressed Tuberculosis as one of the most fatal drug-resistant diseases. In 2011 1.4 million people died due to untreatable cases of TB, of which 430,000 were also suffer- ing from HIV. The num- bers seem horrific, but Dr. Mario Raviglione, direc- tor of WHO's Stop TB program, found a silver lining: 51 million people have been cured of TB and 20 million lives have been saved since 1995, a fact Raviglione attributed to new tools for detecting the disease. But concerns are that each country’s funding is different. India, China, Russia, and South Africa represent two-thirds of the antibi- otic-resistant TB cases. Reviglione informs that new rapid molecular diagnostic test and resistant forms of TB called Xpert, based out of a Californian company, Cepheid, are being shipped to 67 develop- ing countries. But WHO officials remain appre- hensive with the levels of financial support. Between 2013 and 2015, WHO is projected to need $8 billion per year to fight TB, and is already facing a $3 billion gap for 2013. It is this lack of support that will cause millions of unnecessary deaths in the next few years. Trades and travel have been the leading cause of antibiotic resis- tant diseases or super- bugs. Research develop- ment over the past few years have shown those antibiotics used on our livestock are the same used on humans. This process is helping our livestock such as chick- ens become healthy for pre-consumption, but it is weakening us after. Some of poultries’ harmful bac- teria, such as salmonella and E. coli, are taking attributes from super- bugs and causing incur- able infections. Because antibiotics are considered drugs and not additives by Health Canada, there is currently no limit to the amount farmers can choose to use. Agricultural corpora- tions are putting the onus on consumers, suggest- ing that the best means of hours matter when there is a potential catastrophic event, so what I want to do is refine the process so that we do that as well as we possibly can.” Chris Duffy, executive director of operations with EMBC, was quick to defend actions taken by the response team, “Their first notification was from Mother Nature and that was when the ground shook violently.” He also noted that, “To say that folks on Haida Gwaii didn’t get information and didn’t get contacted is not quite a fair characteriza- tion of what occurred. They had the initial ground shake and took action. They certainly had contact from my staff within minutes.” Duffy said that there was an email sent out avoiding cross-contami- nation and bacteria is to handle and cook the food properly. But activists suggest that the only way to end the corporate reign over the drug usage is to make wiser choices at the market. Although buying organic or antibiotic-free food does not guarantee versions without super- bugs, it will leave a mes- sage for the companies. Viruses cause colds and flus, while coughs and sore throats are attributed to respira- tory infections, 90 per cent of which do not require antibiotics. The best medicine concerning those ill- nesses is resting, drinking fluids, and avoiding to various communities and agencies about the tsunami warning 12 minutes after the quake, and doesn’t know why some areas didn’t receive official word for an hour after the fact. As for the timing of the tsunami tweet, Duffy commented, “I am not a social media expert. Our social media staff are also asked to make sure they send out accurate information and to cross- check with senior duty managers.” He would finish with an acknowl- edgement that there is room for improvement though, “Certainly, anytime after hours there is going to be some pres- sure to make sure they have communication. In a disaster, we can always look to improve and do things faster.” the spread of germs. If antibiotics are prescribed, it is important to finish the treatment even if you feel healthy before completion. Washing your hands, staying up to date on vaccination, and avoiding others when sick are pinnacle meth- ods to disease mitigation. Antibiotic Awareness week takes place from November 12 to 18. Visit antibioticawareness.ca for more details.