31 Mar Greetings from the Editor – April 2020

We are living in unprecedented times or are we? The CDC will re-evaluate the United States status after May 11, 2020.

Over the past 300 years there have been about three influenza pandemics in each century, in 2009 we experiened the flu.  The big difference was this flu virus originated within humans.

In years past, there has been Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Horse Flu, Dog Flu.  In 1957, the Asian Flu reported over 1 million dead.  In 1918, over 10 million dead.

Similarly, you may recall SARS and MERS – both of which are contracted through animals. Carriers include camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Yet all three of the above strands have their origins in bats.

The basic intelligence is that animal to human transmission is a mutation and rare.  However, once accomplished, the virus continues to adapt and mutate so that it can transfer between human to human.

The most limiting factor in fighting the virus is that humans do not have pre-existing immunity against a virus originating from animals. So this new virus emerges to infect people and can spread between people sustainably reaching worldwide, as we have witnessed.

At this report, the morbidity rate in the United States by age group found that 80% of deaths were among adults 65 years and older with the highest percentage of severe outcomes occurring in people 85 years and older.

Pandemics of respiratory disease follow a certain progression, from investigation to deceleration. The intervention of isolation, social distancing, closures of schools and other non essential businesses, cancelling or postponing mass gatherings, and routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces are imperative and critical responses to slow the flow.  ‘Be Safe at Home