Post Reply - A new pandemic

   DJ, there are several mechanisms to stop/slow down pandemics;
-Science, public healthcare, a good sewage system, hygiene may have made the difference between high number of people (most children) dying from disease in the 19th century and the -sometimes doubled life expectency- (in western countries) in the (late) 20th century...

-Some diseases-like flu-are "self limiting. One gets immunity..so a disease can not infect a second time...Some diseases kill the host fast enough to limit spread...

-The problem however is getting bigger when healthcare runs out of capacity (by defunding it-or to much demand).

A "new pandemic" could NOT be limited by -defunded- public healthcare, "herd/group" immunity or running out of potential hosts...

One of the problems in a pandemic discussion may be "wishfull thinking". The idea "a pandemic will do limited damage" "only kill the old and weak" is unrealistic...

Pandemics still can kill a lot of its hosts...since diseases by now did spread to many species. Viruses need hosts for reproduction...but "losing human hosts" may not be a problem for a virus(mix)...it however may end humans... 