Forum Topic

Have we been here before?

I've read a couple of articles recently about the 'Russian Flu'  epidemic of the 1890s. The symptoms were fever, continuous dry cough, loss of taste/smell ...Well over 100,000 people died in a population of about 40 million. Advancing age was a major factor in mortality and children were hardly affected. People who recovered from it often felt below par for months afterwards.It took 4-5 years to run its course, although it's probably the ancestor of one of our common cold viruses, but then they didn't have vaccines.There really is nothing new under the sun.

Susan Kelly ● 1919d18 Comments

Natures way of controlling the population.

Janice Evans ● 1919d

"Natures way of controlling the population."Its not working.Total deaths from Covid 19  4,171,000 est since the start of the epidemic (1.5 years, so 2.78 m p.a.)Population growth (this year to date only) 45,000,000 estToo much breeding going on, but none of the climate doomsayers will say that population growth and the Paris accord are incompatible.  The world needs a population reset, which could be bought about by a real epidemic, like the Black Death, which is estimated to have killed 30 percent to 60 percent of the European population.

James Roy ● 1919d

Agree over population is a problem and ignored.

Janice Evans ● 1919d

Let's be cheerful an asteroid could finish us all off.

Janice Evans ● 1919d

Well Bubonic plague has been detected in Colorado, so who next?

Nicholas Beard ● 1919d

We have a growing elderly population here.  There aren't as many big families as there were in the Victorian age when many babies died. You will see this if you do your family tree.  The people who complain most about this tend to be those with no or few children.It is very disappointing that the Govt has cut the aid to charities like International Planned Parenthood.  There are many women who would choose to have fewer children and be able to feed the ones that they do have.

Philippa Bond ● 1919d

"There are many women who would choose to have fewer children and be able to feed the ones that they do have". So what/who specifically is preventing them from doing this?

Brian Coyle ● 1918d

'So what/who specifically is preventing them from doing this?'The overseas aid budget just having been cut is going to make a colossal difference that will affect women and girls in third world/developing countries where family planning is concerned.

Vanessa Smith ● 1918d

Vanessa: Aid budget cut. Oh dear ~ those dictators that relied on our nannying woke largesse won't be able to buy their luxury yachts, London town houses or shower their concubines with diamonds ~ will they?

Bobbie Carnegie ● 1918d

Twat.

Alastair Banton ● 1918d

What Alastair said.

Susan Kelly ● 1917d

Ditto

Stewart Jones ● 1917d

But, it's true Alistair and ditto to 'what Alistair said' as well as to 'Ditto'. Alistair calling me by or associating me to female genitals will not escape the reality of the wastage in so much foreign aid.

Bobbie Carnegie ● 1917d

Compared to what is happening here in the "developed world"??  Some very dubious companies have gained millions of hard-working taxpayers' money - apparently without due diligence checks.  When aid is directed to particular health and welfare programmes that must make it far easier to ensure better control of the use of that aid.

Philippa Bond ● 1917d

Re the Russian flu.  It does sound similar but there are lots of different types of Coronaviruses aren't there? What we call the common colds are coronaviruses but the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) are others. Professor Sarah Gilbert in Oxford was working on coronaviruses before the current pandemic. Thank goodness for university research programmes!  Scientists are in contact with each other across the globe because they often work or have worked on different research projects with each other in different countries and even if they are not actually working together they still communicate.

Philippa Bond ● 1917d

It does seem likely that the Russian Flu was a zoonotic coronavirus (the article mentioned cows). As I say, it's likely to be the ancestor of one of our common colds, which is what with happen with Covid-19 eventually. I hope.

Susan Kelly ● 1917d

Yes, although we often call it the common cold I know there are a lot of cold viruses and I have in the past complained about a particular virus that caused me a lot of hassle because it went straight to my chest with no warning sneezes or sniffles.

Philippa Bond ● 1911d

Would that have been Bronchitis Philippa.

Janice Evans ● 1910d