Here we go again. It’s election time in the United States. How can you tell? Pretty easy actually. Another potentially earth shattering, world ending virus has popped up that we need to spend billions on to distract voters from the political circus we are all forced to endure.
Think about it for a minute. Swine Flu, Avian (bird) Flu, SARS, Mad Cow Disease, Ebola and now the Zika Virus. I can’t wait for them to declare an outbreak of Okeechobee Possum Flu. I wonder how much that will cost us?
Me cynical? You bet your sweet ass I am. How many Americans died from Ebola in the last major world outbreak? Maybe a handful? One or two in the US came down with it and the rest were aid workers who voluntarily went into the infected region to combat the disease. So basically the panic and insanity that issued was a complete waste of time. Funny how these terrible diseases don’t really gain a foothold where modern medicine and high quality medical care is available.
Look at Bird Flu. Millions of chickens have died. If it crosses over to humans it could be a disaster. Mad Cow Disease is the same story. If humans contract it we are all goners. Or so the government and the press would have you believe. Somehow we are all still alive. Must be because our politicians are on guard defending us and spending more and more of our tax dollars.
Zika Virus is the exact same story. People in under developed countries have come down with a disease that could cause microcephaly (decreased head and brain size) in some children born from mothers who contracted the virus. What a horrible tragedy. Anytime a baby is sick it sort of grabs us and twists our insides into knots. The media and government are aware of this human trait and exploit the shit out of it.
Am I a sick bastard for pointing this out? Well, Maybe. But considering how many infants die in under developed countries with inadequate medical care and facilities in equatorial regions anyway may shed some light on how trivial this “epidemic” really is at this point in time.
And now the government of the United States of America has it’s knickers in a twist over this supposed potential pandemic threat. So far, as of 23 May 2016, not one case in the US has been confirmed that was transferred via mosquito. Every case to date here is travel related. A few cases have been confirmed via sexual contact with infected people who traveled to the outbreak’s region. but no one so far in the US has acquired Zika Virus from a local insect bite. It's not even known yet if mosquitos native to the United States can even spread the virus.
More people will die of Leprosy world wide this year than Zika Virus. More people will die of Scurvy this year than Zika Virus. Far more children will die this year from furniture falling on them than people who will die from the Zika Virus. Can you even imagine how many people die from drowning every year?
If we were serious about combating this mortal threat to humanity we would bring back the widespread use of the insecticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. More commonly known as DDT. DDT works quite well at eradicating mosquito populations. It is estimated that DDT could save almost a million human lives a year if it wasn’t banned back in the early seventies and eighties. Sure a few Bald Eagles and other predatory bird species were shown to have elevated levels of the chemical in their systems and some thinning of their subsequent egg shells, but is that really a concern when we are facing the potential extinction of the human race? (A little over dramatic on purpose to make the point).
Once again we are being intentionally distracted by a seemingly minor epidemic during an election season where far more important issues and concerns beg our attention.
A shame we can’t spray for politicians. They are far more destructive and annoying than any insect that I know of…..
No comments:
Post a Comment