A lot of people who "died of the flu" in 1918/19 were actually weakened by the flu, and died of opportunistic infections -- like bronchitis, pneumonia, staph, meningitis, etc.
Anti-viral drugs are still kinda sketchy. But modern medicine, and modern antibiotics, are much better at treating the symptoms and fighting off the second-tier infections. Give a flu patient air conditioning to keep the fever from cooking his brain and a hard whack of Cipro to keep other infections at bay, and you've got two potent weapons that did not exist in 1919. A lot more patients will survive now than did then.
There is definitely the potential for a global viral pandemic. That's why there's so much surveillance of SARS and the H5N1 "bird flu" virus. Neither is a particularly urgent threat right now, but you don't want to wait until the house catches before paying attention to the fire in the barn.
Great post.
I would like to add if as in the early days when the Dr. came to the home.....folks learn good home health care the hospitals would be free to care for ICU and trauma level care patients.
One thing that ticks me off is the lack of education to patients for home health care.
In the past there was fantastic nurse to patient education.
I had a Doc ask me why so many of his stoma patients have infections or skin break down at the site and I told him if they were educated on how to care for the site properly upon discharge he would not be dealing with that.
Nope now a days they get a computer print out instruction sheet of vague care.
You know what would be cool?
Home sputem and blood tests.
Like the diabetic BG home tests.
Not an answer to seeing the doc and doing lab work but a way to bridge the gap.
By the way does anyone know if those purple light wands that are supposed to kill bacteria work?
They look awfully small from what I can tell in the catalogs and way to expensive.