4 ms·

Am I the only who's noticed that there is always one and exactly one major disease of which we should all be mortally afraid?

diminish 11y ago
I second this, it was HIV, then bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, now Zika. Edit: Actually the NYT article is quite nice in evaluating the risk and giving information about the danger zones. But most probably all those viruses/microbes required public attention to get required funding to stop and confine them.
- lern_too_spel 11y ago
  And global warming, right? How is it that people who are sensible about energy policy suddenly turn into conspiracy theorists when it comes to public health policy? This guy isn't making any radical proposals. He's just suggesting a sensible mosquito abatement strategy in a particular part of the US where it makes sense.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    >just suggesting a sensible mosquito abatement strategy Sensibly suggesting it with the foreboding headline "Zika Is Coming"? And, this, in the context of the fear that is already being ginned up about the virus. I don't know that it's a conspiracy, but it's pretty predictable by now: "This New Virus Will Kill Us All" headlines. Story after story, then the fizzle when fears prove to be overstated. So, just as suddenly, the headlines completely disappear. Ebola headlines stopped literally overnight from just about every media outlet. But, within a few months another mortal fear arises. You can set your watch to it.
    - lern_too_spel 11y ago
      This guy isn't saying that Zika will kill us all. The headline you're complaining about simply states that Zika is coming. Are you claiming that Zika isn't coming? Ebola didn't disappear on its own. It was sound containment policy that kept it from gaining a foothold in developed countries. Exactly the kind of sound policy that the author is advocating. Your line of thinking is what makes measles come back.
      - unclebucknasty 11y ago
        I am not claiming that Zika is or is not coming. I am suggesting that the headline is loaded and that if you live in one of those dark orange areas on the map with the legend "The Most Vulnerable" it's probably scaring the shit out of you in a way that's disproportionate to the current threat. >Ebola didn't disappear on its own But it would have equally disappeared without the minor panic incited by the media. You remember that part too, don't you? >Your line of thinking is what makes measles come back Oh, the drama. I don't think my weariness of the fear mongering is going to bring back the Black Death. No, my ,"line of thinking" says let public health officials do their jobs without this incessant advertising-selling drumbeat regarding our collective impending doom. But it's OK. Give me your address and I will bring my 8 unvaccinated kids and their unvaccinated goldfish to your house to hang out for a bit. Apologies in advance for your exploding head.
        lern_too_spel 11y ago
        I don't remember any panic except from Fox News talking heads who assumed the executive branch would bungle containment. The author and the article are not in any way comparable to those fear mongers.
        unclebucknasty 11y ago
        Ironically, there were literally headlines about "Ebola panic" itself. Thankfully, Google is there when our memories falter.
- HarryHirsch 11y ago
  Come on. HIV is still a major pandemic, but medical research has given us a dozen compounds against it. If caught early you can live 30 years while HIV-positive. Without medication it's still a death sentence. Try Botswana or Zimbabwe if you think AIDS isn't a problem. And you should thank the physician who caught that Patrick Sawyer fellow in time. Ebola in Lagos would have been catastrophic.
  - diminish 11y ago
    Maybe the fear mongering for specific incoming threats in main stream media is a required part of fund raising. Then I could raise 2 critics: 1. The media-incited fear must be equally allocated to old, common as well as new threats 2. The tabloid type of fear mongering isn't needed. Actually the NYT article is quite serious and informative, the headline which is similar to "winter coming" asks for preparations.
    - unclebucknasty 11y ago
      That's funny: serious and informative, yet soberly asking for preparations using a commonly known pop culture phrase that refers to an impending zombie apocalypse.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    That's not my point. Mark your calendar for a year from today. Two years at most. I all but guarantee you that Zika won't be in the headlines then, but another Scary Ass Microbe will be.
bahro 11y ago
Yes. It is coronary heart disease.
- ryandvm 11y ago
  Heart disease, also known as "not dying of anything else."
cm3 11y ago
There's always been more than one.
kafkaesq 11y ago
I look at articles like these as raising awareness - not fear.
DannoHung 11y ago
Because health agencies pour tons of work and money into preventing their spread before the next major disease can hit us. Or would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people?
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  >would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people? That's asinine. As if the choices are panicked fear or death. Do you think those public health agencies would be somehow less effective in the absence of fear-mongering? My comment is not a question of there being public health threats. It's about the media coverage and the incessant need to sell fear in these times.
  - lern_too_spel 11y ago
    The author works in public health. Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Implementing the plan in the article requires public funds, and so it's perfectly reasonable to inform the public.
    - unclebucknasty 11y ago
      >Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Yes, as any public health official will attest, public health policy happens best in a climate of unbridled fear and panic.
- douche 11y ago
  We're probably due for a good culling. There'll be eight billion of us before long. Time to go play Plague, Inc, again...
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    It's OK. As long as we are all morbidly afraid, we will be immune.

diminish 11y ago

I second this, it was HIV, then bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, now Zika. Edit: Actually the NYT article is quite nice in evaluating the risk and giving information about the danger zones. But most probably all those viruses/microbes required public attention to get required funding to stop and confine them.

lern_too_spel 11y ago
And global warming, right? How is it that people who are sensible about energy policy suddenly turn into conspiracy theorists when it comes to public health policy? This guy isn't making any radical proposals. He's just suggesting a sensible mosquito abatement strategy in a particular part of the US where it makes sense.
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  >just suggesting a sensible mosquito abatement strategy Sensibly suggesting it with the foreboding headline "Zika Is Coming"? And, this, in the context of the fear that is already being ginned up about the virus. I don't know that it's a conspiracy, but it's pretty predictable by now: "This New Virus Will Kill Us All" headlines. Story after story, then the fizzle when fears prove to be overstated. So, just as suddenly, the headlines completely disappear. Ebola headlines stopped literally overnight from just about every media outlet. But, within a few months another mortal fear arises. You can set your watch to it.
  - lern_too_spel 11y ago
    This guy isn't saying that Zika will kill us all. The headline you're complaining about simply states that Zika is coming. Are you claiming that Zika isn't coming? Ebola didn't disappear on its own. It was sound containment policy that kept it from gaining a foothold in developed countries. Exactly the kind of sound policy that the author is advocating. Your line of thinking is what makes measles come back.
    - unclebucknasty 11y ago
      I am not claiming that Zika is or is not coming. I am suggesting that the headline is loaded and that if you live in one of those dark orange areas on the map with the legend "The Most Vulnerable" it's probably scaring the shit out of you in a way that's disproportionate to the current threat. >Ebola didn't disappear on its own But it would have equally disappeared without the minor panic incited by the media. You remember that part too, don't you? >Your line of thinking is what makes measles come back Oh, the drama. I don't think my weariness of the fear mongering is going to bring back the Black Death. No, my ,"line of thinking" says let public health officials do their jobs without this incessant advertising-selling drumbeat regarding our collective impending doom. But it's OK. Give me your address and I will bring my 8 unvaccinated kids and their unvaccinated goldfish to your house to hang out for a bit. Apologies in advance for your exploding head.
      - lern_too_spel 11y ago
        I don't remember any panic except from Fox News talking heads who assumed the executive branch would bungle containment. The author and the article are not in any way comparable to those fear mongers.
        unclebucknasty 11y ago
        Ironically, there were literally headlines about "Ebola panic" itself. Thankfully, Google is there when our memories falter.
HarryHirsch 11y ago
Come on. HIV is still a major pandemic, but medical research has given us a dozen compounds against it. If caught early you can live 30 years while HIV-positive. Without medication it's still a death sentence. Try Botswana or Zimbabwe if you think AIDS isn't a problem. And you should thank the physician who caught that Patrick Sawyer fellow in time. Ebola in Lagos would have been catastrophic.
- diminish 11y ago
  Maybe the fear mongering for specific incoming threats in main stream media is a required part of fund raising. Then I could raise 2 critics: 1. The media-incited fear must be equally allocated to old, common as well as new threats 2. The tabloid type of fear mongering isn't needed. Actually the NYT article is quite serious and informative, the headline which is similar to "winter coming" asks for preparations.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    That's funny: serious and informative, yet soberly asking for preparations using a commonly known pop culture phrase that refers to an impending zombie apocalypse.
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  That's not my point. Mark your calendar for a year from today. Two years at most. I all but guarantee you that Zika won't be in the headlines then, but another Scary Ass Microbe will be.

bahro 11y ago

Yes. It is coronary heart disease.

ryandvm 11y ago
Heart disease, also known as "not dying of anything else."

cm3 11y ago

There's always been more than one.

kafkaesq 11y ago

I look at articles like these as raising awareness - not fear.

DannoHung 11y ago

Because health agencies pour tons of work and money into preventing their spread before the next major disease can hit us. Or would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people?

unclebucknasty 11y ago
>would you rather a modern Spanish flu pandemic kill half a billion people? That's asinine. As if the choices are panicked fear or death. Do you think those public health agencies would be somehow less effective in the absence of fear-mongering? My comment is not a question of there being public health threats. It's about the media coverage and the incessant need to sell fear in these times.
- lern_too_spel 11y ago
  The author works in public health. Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Implementing the plan in the article requires public funds, and so it's perfectly reasonable to inform the public.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    >Public health policy doesn't happen in a vacuum. Yes, as any public health official will attest, public health policy happens best in a climate of unbridled fear and panic.
douche 11y ago
We're probably due for a good culling. There'll be eight billion of us before long. Time to go play Plague, Inc, again...
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  It's OK. As long as we are all morbidly afraid, we will be immune.