I would have to disagree with your assessment , the ability of the pharacutical industry to “surge “ the production of antibiotics is limited . Large scale outbreaks in several locations have the very real potential to exhaust the drug companies production capabilities.
bttt
Interesting new details way down in an IBD editorial....
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Al-Qaida’s Threat Is Still With Us
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 1/20/2009
[snip]
From the sound of it, they were likely killed by a strain of the bubonic plague — the deadly rat-borne bacterial disease that ravaged much of the world in the 13th and 14th century, wiping out fully a third of Europe’s population. An airborne version, pneumonic plague, is equally deadly.
The details are horrific. The Algerian victims were said to be afflicted with horrible boils in different parts of their bodies, dying in excruciating pain after just a few hours. It’s an awful way to die.
[snip]
(excerpt — rest at link http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=317348148353832