Sigh. And we wait for the inevitable when H5N1 or some variant or reassortment of it jumps to humans.
I have little doubt the first response will be "it's just the flu."
And then the addition of annual updates to the annual vaccine for flu based on a cost-benefit analysis of how much peoples lives (as productive labor) are worth compared to the cost to the government and insurers for the vaccine.
Never mind how infectious it is, or how lethal it is or isn't. Yawn.
By the way. There is still a Hiccough. I previously had an account on substack, and merging your list here did not then reflect that I am a paid subscriber as the username is different no doubt.
Yep, histories of the 1918 flu predict our governments will do nothing or less than nothing. I haven't imported members from Ghost back over here. Not sure who wants want. I'll update yours if you want it to be consistent.
The terrible thing is that when H5 adapts to humans there is a very real chance that it will bring with it the lethality we see in birds or cats rather than the mild response in cows. We won't know until we know. And then if it is highly fatal, it is too late.
Then the lockdowns from COVID or the 1918 flu will look like nothing. Instead, it will likely look far more like the black death.
Another note about milk. Pasteurization is indeed about killing most pathogens. It is a tradeoff though. Actually sterilizing the milk would dramatically alter its flavor and character.
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is a common disease in cows. It often survives pasteurization, It is slow growing and hard to culture, It is suspected to cause Crohn's disease and to cause or aggregate some forms of arthritis.
For anyone with arthritis or intestinal disorders, milk is a risk. I am acutely aware of that just now, as I am just coming out of a bad bout with arthritis related intestinal distress likely caused by commercial milk.
This is made worse by how milk is batched from large numbers of cows. No more milk products for me - for the duration - or until they bring H5 under control and routinely test all cows and cattle for it. Sigh.
In a sense that is a bit like how all poultry must be considered to be laced with salmonella and other intestinal bugs because of the highly contaminated water baths that all bitd carcasses pass through.
I guess I will try going back to oat milk for my coffee creamer, with lots of added magnesium to overcome the magnesium, calcium, iron depleting character of oat milk, because of its high phytic acid content. If I don't do that, oat milk results in severe muscle cramps from electrolyte disturbances as it rips magnesium out of my tissues.
What about one of the other plant-based “milks” like almond, cashew, soy or coconut? (Unfortunately, I can’t stand any of these in my coffee and I wasn’t able to get used to drinking it black after three months, so I use ultra pasteurized half and half.) I use almond milk on my cereal.
Sigh. And we wait for the inevitable when H5N1 or some variant or reassortment of it jumps to humans.
I have little doubt the first response will be "it's just the flu."
And then the addition of annual updates to the annual vaccine for flu based on a cost-benefit analysis of how much peoples lives (as productive labor) are worth compared to the cost to the government and insurers for the vaccine.
Never mind how infectious it is, or how lethal it is or isn't. Yawn.
By the way. There is still a Hiccough. I previously had an account on substack, and merging your list here did not then reflect that I am a paid subscriber as the username is different no doubt.
Yep, histories of the 1918 flu predict our governments will do nothing or less than nothing. I haven't imported members from Ghost back over here. Not sure who wants want. I'll update yours if you want it to be consistent.
Yes please. Mostly so I am reminded to renew.
The terrible thing is that when H5 adapts to humans there is a very real chance that it will bring with it the lethality we see in birds or cats rather than the mild response in cows. We won't know until we know. And then if it is highly fatal, it is too late.
Then the lockdowns from COVID or the 1918 flu will look like nothing. Instead, it will likely look far more like the black death.
Another note about milk. Pasteurization is indeed about killing most pathogens. It is a tradeoff though. Actually sterilizing the milk would dramatically alter its flavor and character.
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is a common disease in cows. It often survives pasteurization, It is slow growing and hard to culture, It is suspected to cause Crohn's disease and to cause or aggregate some forms of arthritis.
For anyone with arthritis or intestinal disorders, milk is a risk. I am acutely aware of that just now, as I am just coming out of a bad bout with arthritis related intestinal distress likely caused by commercial milk.
This is made worse by how milk is batched from large numbers of cows. No more milk products for me - for the duration - or until they bring H5 under control and routinely test all cows and cattle for it. Sigh.
In a sense that is a bit like how all poultry must be considered to be laced with salmonella and other intestinal bugs because of the highly contaminated water baths that all bitd carcasses pass through.
I guess I will try going back to oat milk for my coffee creamer, with lots of added magnesium to overcome the magnesium, calcium, iron depleting character of oat milk, because of its high phytic acid content. If I don't do that, oat milk results in severe muscle cramps from electrolyte disturbances as it rips magnesium out of my tissues.
Or maybe I will just switch to tea.
What about one of the other plant-based “milks” like almond, cashew, soy or coconut? (Unfortunately, I can’t stand any of these in my coffee and I wasn’t able to get used to drinking it black after three months, so I use ultra pasteurized half and half.) I use almond milk on my cereal.
Hi Jessica, I’d like to go back to reading you on Substack. Sometimes I miss the Ghost email notifications. Thank you!