Would we be ready for a recurrence of the diseases that wiped out the Americas’ native populations 400 years ago?
It’s been a hard day’s night …:
Here’s the deal. In about 1913 a flu virus “jumped” from one species (probably swine) to another (people) and by 1918, more than five million persons [Actually, it was between 20 and 40 million] had died from it. That virus has been recreated in labs for study within the past two years, and one of its nifty effects, technically termed a “cytokine storm“, is to turn your body’s immune system into a self-targeting ninja horde. It was, and is, the deadliest single disease on record since the flea-borne “Black Plague” that decimated Europe in the days of rats, mice, open sewers and “miasmatic transference.”
In the rising tide of theocratic oligarchism sweeping around the globe, it’s worth remembering that science exists and has proven some things.
Preventing communicable diseases isn’t rocket science.
1. Wash your hands.
2. Stay home when you’re sick.
3. Keep your kids home when they’re sick.
4. Cough into your shoulder or elbow, not your hands.
5. Wash your hands. Use warm water and soap, or an antibacterial gel.