5 ms·
> I've only ever heard it said about eliminating the single largest source of death in human history. Is this true? I'm not sure if you're being hyperbolic he
by andrewclunn 5y ago
> I've only ever heard it said about eliminating the single largest source of death in human history.
Is this true? I'm not sure if you're being hyperbolic here, but if that is a defensible claim I want to hear how you arrived at that conclusion.
- abathur 5y agoAIUI mosquito-borne illness is estimated to have killed more than 4% of all of the humans that have ever lived https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2019/10/03/has_malaria_really_killed_half_of_everyone_who_ever_lived.html https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2019/10/03/has_malaria...
- BurningFrog 5y ago"Malaria may have killed half of all the people that ever lived" https://www.nature.com/articles/news021001-6#:~:text=Malaria%20may%20have%20killed%20half,children%20in%20sub%2DSaharan%20Africa https://www.nature.com/articles/news021001-6#:~:text=Malaria....
- whimsicalism 5y agoI think people forget quite how long the population tail in Africa is and people also forget that malaria used to be endemic to Europe.
- saalweachter 5y agoAnd that previous attempts to curb the reign of mosquitoes include things like "draining all swamps everywhere". Take a look at the coastline of Long Island on satellite maps, and all the scars left by that time they tried to eliminate all of the salt marshes to get rid of mosquitoes near NYC.