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RE: Plague: An Ancient and Present Peril
The emergence of antibiotic resitant strains of plague was a worrying development last year. I think that influenza is more likely to be a primary disease of concern, but in a population already stressed by a flu outbreak, diseases like plague, typhoid, cholera and ebola could find their way into the population as sanitation and infrastructure break down.
It's hard to know where the next pandemic will come from, or what it will be. One thing is certain, this is a danger that has always been with us. Vigilance, sanitation, research and education are the best defenses.
I don't think it's a competition between plague, Ebola, typhoid, etc. Ebola and flu certainly have gained public attention. Plague is really off the radar for most people. Recent outbreaks in Peru, Madagascar, the Congo, etc...are warning flags. This is a foe we haven't really beaten. It kills about 3,000 every year. Not only is plague a potential peril, it also is an interesting subject. The history of the disease takes us back through time.
Oh, I doubt it would be a competition. They all would be a risk in the right conditions. Not to mention others that are rarely seen now.
There are cases in the US every year from squirrels and groundhogs, mole carry it in Europe. No, it has not disappeared and is just sitting pretty waiting for the right conditions to really get going.
Yeah, it was actually kind of creepy writing this, as the blog progressed. I started it as an academic exercise and then the sheer weight of suffering got to me--even the picture if an expiring squirrel. Next blog won't have so much suffering in it.
Yeah. I have always been fascinated and repelled in equal measure by infectious disease and plagues.
The scariest proposition is pneumonic plague that is resistant. That will really test things.
There have been a few interesting outbreaks of ebola type viruses not commonly known also.
I think in a way, by studying the diseases we get a handle on our revulsion (sort of a reaction formation). Gives us a sense of control to understand the thing that repels us. You obviously have given the subject some thought also. A lot of people just look away. One reason I wrote the blog. Of course, if no one reads it, I haven't accomplished much, have I :)
Mind you, the world could do with a decent plague. Wars cull the strong and able, disease hits the weaker and least immune. So for population control it is preferable. However, it would be nice just to see resources devoted to enabling the population as it stands, instead of spending so much time, energy and resources on war.
I've finally had two cups of coffee and so can begin to operate on Steemit. All fuses are nonfunctional before coffee.
Your comment is likely intended to be provocative, but as I grow older I'm not so easily surprised or provoked. What I will offer in response is a couple of thoughts:
War and plague are unpredictable agents of those who employ them. They can be indiscriminate in operation, and turn upon those who unleash them (see: Russian nobility and WWI).
Both agents of death, however, do have in common one consequence: they generally fall most heavily on the poor, who have less resources to escape or resist them. This is true of the present plague epidemics. As epidemiologists look for risk factors, they cite low socioeconomic status. And, as we know, wars are often fought by those with limited political and economic resources (see: Vietnam in the US).
I think if we are looking to control population growth, we might try raising living standards. It seems that the more secure people feel, the less children they have. The theory to explain this is that more than one or two offspring are not essential for gene survival (see: birth rates in Norway).
You see, coffee works. Perhaps the mind is not working effectively, but it is working :)
Not provocative intentionally at all. As you say, raising living standards is the big solution to many of our issues. As I also said.
I am not saying I would celebrate a plague, and yes, I realise it impacts heavilly on the poorer people. However, for as long as we behave like a plague on the planet, something must control the numbers. Same is true of every species. We do not really have any dedicated predators, except each other, so disease becomes the only other viable natural balancer, That or intentional culling, which would impact only the poor.