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Spread Of 1918 Flu Pandemic Explained
Science Daily ^
| 2-19-2008
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Posted on 02/19/2008 10:17:10 AM PST by blam
click here to read article
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1
posted on
02/19/2008 10:17:18 AM PST
by
blam
To: Smokin' Joe
2
posted on
02/19/2008 10:17:46 AM PST
by
blam
(Secure the border and enforce the law)
To: blam
Two mutations dramatically change the HA binding affinity to receptors found in the human upper airways. I hate when that happens.
To: 2ndreconmarine; Fitzcarraldo; Covenantor; Mother Abigail; EBH; Dog Gone; ...
4
posted on
02/19/2008 10:20:14 AM PST
by
Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
To: blam
Pandemics on average come every 24 years and we are overdue. Some are widespread but still mild. This is a serious threat because of the urbanization of masses and frequent travel patterns of probable hosts.
5
posted on
02/19/2008 10:21:08 AM PST
by
BipolarBob
(I've been stung by honey bees and bumblebees. I don't want no huckle bee.)
To: blam
What’s the explanation for the 1918 flu appearing all over the world at the same time?
6
posted on
02/19/2008 10:22:26 AM PST
by
Graybeard58
( Remember and pray for SSgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
To: blam
I’m curious, assuming they didn’t have electron microscopes in 1918, are these photos of a virus LIKE the 1918 case or are they photos of the resurrected stuff?
7
posted on
02/19/2008 10:24:22 AM PST
by
djf
(I think McCain deserves a chance. After all, he is on R side!)
To: djf
From what I have read, they removed the virus from people buried in an area that had perma-frost, so the virus has remained in “cold-storage” effectively.
8
posted on
02/19/2008 10:26:16 AM PST
by
jrestrepo
To: jrestrepo
Scientists.
Doncha just love em?
9
posted on
02/19/2008 10:29:32 AM PST
by
djf
(I think McCain deserves a chance. After all, he is on R side!)
To: Graybeard58
I remember watching a special on the 1918 pandemic. I'm not sure any one theory has been proven correct. One that seemed to carry a fair amount of weight was that the returning troops and refugees from WWI carried it home (thus having the outbreak appear at about the same time).
Maybe a Freeper(ette) with better knowledge on this can fill us in.
10
posted on
02/19/2008 10:30:29 AM PST
by
batter
("Always take the offensive...Never Dig in." - Gen Patton)
To: djf; jrestrepo
11
posted on
02/19/2008 10:35:35 AM PST
by
batter
("Always take the offensive...Never Dig in." - Gen Patton)
To: blam
Well, good: We know how to weaponize Avian flu.
And now so does everyone else.
12
posted on
02/19/2008 10:37:58 AM PST
by
Lazamataz
(Why isn’t this in Breaking News????)
To: blam
Lock and key stuff. When we really get a decent handle on predicting protein folding we’ll be able to kill everybody on earth. I mean that in the nicest possible way.
To: Lazamataz
We know how to weaponize Avian flu
Huh? these mutations occurred spontaneously, what do you mean weaponize Avian flu?
14
posted on
02/19/2008 10:43:11 AM PST
by
brwnsuga
(Proud, Black, Conservative!!!)
To: Lazamataz
We know how to weaponize Avian flu
Huh? these mutations occurred spontaneously, what do you mean weaponize Avian flu?
15
posted on
02/19/2008 10:43:25 AM PST
by
brwnsuga
(Proud, Black, Conservative!!!)
To: blam
16
posted on
02/19/2008 10:44:18 AM PST
by
Fiddlstix
(Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
To: blam
The headline seems misleading. I'd say the chemical characteristics of the virus don't explain satisfactorily the flu's "spread." Rather, they explain its
virulence.
As hypothesized by Paul W. Ewald in his book, Plague Time, the spread seems more likely to have been an artifact of human actions, not only overcrowding in military hospitals and barracks, but also the worldwide failure of civilian authorities to appreciate the need for isolating/quarantining the ill.
(Ewald's logic involves an application of evolutionary theory that's too detailed for me to attempt a summary. But if you're seriously interested in the topic, I think you can't go wrong by reading his short book!)
17
posted on
02/19/2008 10:50:08 AM PST
by
Hawthorn
To: Graybeard58
I believe it traveled rapidly around the globe several times before tapering off. That’s the impression I got from “The Great Influenza.”
To: Constitution Day
To: Hawthorn
Sure it explains its spread. Before the evolution of the virus to a strain that could readily infect humans it only spread between avians. Once it mutated to the new strain it readily spread from humans to humans by binding to humans’ upper respiratory tract.
20
posted on
02/19/2008 10:57:42 AM PST
by
allmendream
("A Lyger is pretty much my favorite animal."NapoleonD)
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