Not the most appealing headline, I know, but it accurately captures the theme of today's digest, public health. We generally take for granted that we live in a healthy society, and we do, but this is a very new development. Not until the last century did the practice of medicine become fully scientific, equipping us with the knowledge and weapons to protect ourselves from plagues and pestilences that could appear suddenly and kill quickly.
By the way, who else noticed that Donald Trump was quite sniffle-y during Monday's debate?
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1918 - The Flu pandemic strikes Philadelphia, killing 12,000. Yes, the Flu can be that deadly. Though oft forgotten, the pandemic that struck towards the end of WWI was far more devastating than the Great War. Estimates for the number of dead range into the hundreds of millions, though it is difficult to know for sure because of poor public health and record systems in many countries. Even the low end estimates are in the tens of millions, and this is all from the Flu. It makes one ponder the overlooked importance of public health. For a great read on this topic, check out The Great Influenza, by John Barry, and a thank you to my mom for recommending it to me.
Waiting for Zika
While the nation frets over a possible Zika epidemic, we are increasingly ill-equipped to handle one if it happens (from Medium). Budget issues and struggling state economies mean that many places have cut public health spending, and are thus unprepared for a potential outbreak. Like many aspects of society that function without demanding attention from most of us, we probably won't care much about the importance of public health until we're suffering because we ignored it.
Mississippi Leads the Way
There's a phrase I don't write very often, but when it comes to one important aspect of public health, Mississippi is better than the rest: we have the country's highest child vaccination rate (from the Washington Post). I'm just speculating, this could be the case because - while often portrayed as a conservative/libertarian point of view - the real anti-vaxxers are wealthy liberals in Southern California who boost their children's immune systems with herbs and soy milk...or something. Anyhow, we Mississippians differ from the SoCal crowd, but again, I'm just speculating....as to why we are number one while there was recently a Measles outbreak in Disneyland.
Vaccinations are a cornerstone of public health. They have saved uncountable lives and spared many of us from miseries we can only see in history books. Let's keep it that way.
Superbugs
Not of the insect variety, but rather of the infectious sort. The type that is immune to antibiotics. Because bacteria and viruses reproduce so quickly, there is always a chance they will mutate into something new, evolve, much more quickly than many other species. Overexposing germs to antibiotics makes them even more likely to develop a mutation giving them immunity to our weapons against them: enter the super bug (from the Washington Post). This highlights the importance of two things: living a healthy lifestyle that will help you avoid the need for antibiotics; and, when prescribed antibiotics, taking the complete dosage to make sure the bacteria die and cannot pass on drug-resistant genes.
Tomorrow's Steroids
Ready to hear about the world's next super food? You're probably not going to be lining up around the block to buy a carton of cockroach milk, but according to scientists it's loaded with nutrients (from NPR). Disgusting though it may be, this is a fascinating read, all the more so because I had no idea that cockroaches produced milk. I was under the impression that milk production was a mammalian trait, and not something insects were capable of, but that's why reading is fun! Anyhow, brace yourselves, because perhaps we'll all be taking capsules of condensed roach milk as super vitamins in just a few years....
Puppy Wrestling!
I never hope anyone is having a bad day, but if you are, this is the perfect pick-me-up; there may not be anything cuter than two puppies wrestling. I don't know these fellas personally, but I was at a dog park with my good friend Christina last week, and we got to watch this bout for nearly 10 minutes before the two pups tired, and flopped over. Who cares about the victor, it was an epic match up of lively cuteness, and the real winner was the audience. I wish I had a video to share, but you'll have to imagine the rest of the action. Hooray for puppy wrestling!
Will's Weekly Trivia
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IF you choose to answer the question, respond to staton.will@gmail.com with your answer. Please note that by competing you are giving me permission to publish your first name in the trivia leader board each week.
Last Week:
1. Why did Benedict Arnold attempt to surrender West Point to the British? ONE POINT
2. What was Fritz Haber's most lethal creation? ONE POINT
3. In which MODERN nation was Mother Teresa born (HINT: It was part of the Ottoman Empire when she was born)? ONE POINT
Answers:
1. Arnold was in debt, and was passed over for promotion because he had political enemies. Financial need and personal anger at being snubbed led Arnold to seek a deal with the British.
2. Haber developed chemical weapons, particularly chlorine and mustard gas.
3. Though she was Albanian, Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, the capital of modern day Macedonia.
This Week:
1. What was the influenza virus that struck in 1918 known as? ONE POINT
2. In 2010 there was a flu scare, what was the name of that flu (HINT: named for an animal)? ONE POINT
3. Which ancient Greek healer is one of the founding figures of medicine (HINT: doctor's take an oath named for him)? ONE POINT
