Since September 2012. That isn’t even an epidemic, is it?
I wondered the same thing. Sometimes a death is an anomoly, not a harbringer of things to come.
I have no idea. Public health people watch these things before they reach full epidemic status, I think.
I am just a little hyper aware of bugs travelling internationally because we live in a very international environment, only minutes away from LAX and the port of LA. Anybody who has used the grocery cart at Ralph’s before me could have left germs on it that came from anywhere on the globe.
I have a BIL who is an ornithologist. A few years ago, when bird flu was a concern, he was fitted with his hazmat suit and trained on going into chicken ranches and dealing with a disease situation. He has never needed to use his training, but he’s all ready to go, in case this ever becomes necessary.
I think we will never know how many epidemics have been thwarted by the vigilance of people who watch for outbreaks and make plans to deal with them. It’s a lot safer world than it used to be, in terms of germs, even taking superbugs into account.