Swine Flu is Not the Apocalypse
Apr. 27th, 2009 07:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vdanskOK, we had five patients today, in rural MA, who thought they had swine flu.
They don't.
While contagious, annoying, and potentially dangerous for the very young, very old, and immunocompromised, swine flu has yet to kill ANYONE in a first world country. But what, you say, if this is the start of another outbreak like the 1918 epidemic?
Yes, the 1918 epidemic was bad. It's estimated that as many as one million people world wide died. And why did they die? First, they were malnourished; second, they had inadequate medical care. Third, antibiotics for the secondary infections--mostly pneumonia--hadn't been invented yet.
Wait, you say--malnourished? Surely not in America!
Well, yes. In 1918, a majority of Americans and Europeans got most of their nutrition from bread. This had never, over centuries, been a problem...until the introduction, in the early years of the century, of cheap white flour, and therefore cheap white bread. This, while greatly preferred by most people for the cachet attached to it, had all the nutrition of cardboard. In World War I, about 75% of recruits--healthy young men!-- were felt to be significantly malnourished.
We may be overweight and sedentary, but compared to our ancestors of that era, we are the picture of health. Even if swine flu comes, the vast majority of us will never need the stockpiled anti-virals, let alone hospitalization.
This has been a public service announcement. Feel free to copy and forward.
They don't.
While contagious, annoying, and potentially dangerous for the very young, very old, and immunocompromised, swine flu has yet to kill ANYONE in a first world country. But what, you say, if this is the start of another outbreak like the 1918 epidemic?
Yes, the 1918 epidemic was bad. It's estimated that as many as one million people world wide died. And why did they die? First, they were malnourished; second, they had inadequate medical care. Third, antibiotics for the secondary infections--mostly pneumonia--hadn't been invented yet.
Wait, you say--malnourished? Surely not in America!
Well, yes. In 1918, a majority of Americans and Europeans got most of their nutrition from bread. This had never, over centuries, been a problem...until the introduction, in the early years of the century, of cheap white flour, and therefore cheap white bread. This, while greatly preferred by most people for the cachet attached to it, had all the nutrition of cardboard. In World War I, about 75% of recruits--healthy young men!-- were felt to be significantly malnourished.
We may be overweight and sedentary, but compared to our ancestors of that era, we are the picture of health. Even if swine flu comes, the vast majority of us will never need the stockpiled anti-virals, let alone hospitalization.
This has been a public service announcement. Feel free to copy and forward.
