4 ms·

That is absolutely disgusting, but given the horrible state the system is in, why have we not heard of larger, more widespread disease outbreaks? You would thin

That is absolutely disgusting, but given the horrible state the system is in, why have we not heard of larger, more widespread disease outbreaks? You would think it would be happening all the time with the system in such horrible shape.

empath75 8y ago
Turns out the human immune system works pretty well.
- bluntfang 8y ago
  Ya know, I never understood why so many people today overlook the conditions that the human body had to endure before the last 100 years or so. I have a family member that washes avocados before eating them and doesn't want to sleep at a KOA campground for fear of being eaten by bears. Baffling.
  - gerbilly 8y ago
    Yeah, I wouldn't overestimate how good our immune systems is at protecting us from contaminated water.[1] Where I grew up, at the start of the 20th century many children died in infancy from contaminated water and milk. Also the gut is an 'immune privileged' part of the body, meaning that the immune system does not attempt to keep it sterile like the rest of the body.[2] We need a healthy micro-biome for digestion and to synthesize vitamins etc, but this means that it's also relatively easy to get sick from contaminated water and food. [1] The World Health Organization says that every year more than 3.4 million people die as a result of water related diseases, making it the leading cause of disease and death around the world. [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972898 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972898
    - oftenwrong 8y ago
      New York had a big scandal related to "swill milk" in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Distillery waste was fed to sick and dying cows kept in overcrowded, filthy lots. The milk and whatever dirty, contaminated water that got mixed in was adulterated with various substances to help mask the low quality. Many children died from consuming it. A very dark chapter of human history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swill_milk_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swill_milk_scandal
  - code_duck 8y ago
    There’s a happy medium in there somewhere. People do get sick from unwashed produce - the recent Romaine lettuce recall, for example, or the periodic issues with produce like grapes or cilantro. On the other hand, strict cleanliness seems to contribute to development of immune problems like allergies or even celiac disease.
izzydata 8y ago
It took quite awhile before the black plague manifested and wiped out half of the world population. Some new disease could be just around the corner.

empath75 8y ago

Turns out the human immune system works pretty well.

bluntfang 8y ago
Ya know, I never understood why so many people today overlook the conditions that the human body had to endure before the last 100 years or so. I have a family member that washes avocados before eating them and doesn't want to sleep at a KOA campground for fear of being eaten by bears. Baffling.
- gerbilly 8y ago
  Yeah, I wouldn't overestimate how good our immune systems is at protecting us from contaminated water.[1] Where I grew up, at the start of the 20th century many children died in infancy from contaminated water and milk. Also the gut is an 'immune privileged' part of the body, meaning that the immune system does not attempt to keep it sterile like the rest of the body.[2] We need a healthy micro-biome for digestion and to synthesize vitamins etc, but this means that it's also relatively easy to get sick from contaminated water and food. [1] The World Health Organization says that every year more than 3.4 million people die as a result of water related diseases, making it the leading cause of disease and death around the world. [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972898 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16972898
  - oftenwrong 8y ago
    New York had a big scandal related to "swill milk" in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Distillery waste was fed to sick and dying cows kept in overcrowded, filthy lots. The milk and whatever dirty, contaminated water that got mixed in was adulterated with various substances to help mask the low quality. Many children died from consuming it. A very dark chapter of human history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swill_milk_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swill_milk_scandal
- code_duck 8y ago
  There’s a happy medium in there somewhere. People do get sick from unwashed produce - the recent Romaine lettuce recall, for example, or the periodic issues with produce like grapes or cilantro. On the other hand, strict cleanliness seems to contribute to development of immune problems like allergies or even celiac disease.

izzydata 8y ago

It took quite awhile before the black plague manifested and wiped out half of the world population. Some new disease could be just around the corner.