Re: Next mystery disease?

Feb 26, 2025 Last reply: 1 year ago 3 Replies


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>> >> (and others)


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>> Gotta be hell living in a place where this sort of thing isn't >> unexpected...
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> And, is this still another?
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New mystery diseases show up from time to time. Spanish Flu and Covid-19 killed enough people to get a lot of attention.


There are people out there looking for them, but news reporters aren't all that good at the job, and shouldn't be taken all that seriously.


Medically trained people do better, but they do include the usual proportion of attention-seeking show-boats, not to mention a number of people who don't want to rock the boat by starting a panic, even when panic is the correct reaction.

Spanish 'flu of course did not originate in Spain. The source was most likely Haskell County, Kansas in the USA.

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John

Spain was neutral in WW1. Combatant countries didn't want to admit that some of their troops were out of action because they had been struck by an epidemic.

A part of the problem during WWI was that anyone infected but still able to handle a rifle was kept on the front line and only the most seriously ill were sent back for medical treatment. This selected for the most virulent strain with the worst symptoms as the soldiers travelling back on trains infected many more other contacts as a direct result.

Neither side wanted to admit there was a problem.

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