Coronavirus: The Lesson of Typhoid Mary

From Wikipedia: Typhoid Mary

Where does the idea that people without symptoms spread disease come from?

I suppose from long ago...

In the ancient days (let's say pre-1970) when people were sick your mother kept you away from them:  Little Johnny next door has a cold so you couldn't go over and play.

You also knew that there were "carriers" - people who weren't yet sick but were likely spreading the disease.  Joe's big brother is sick so you knew Joe was going to get sick sooner or later and, because you were playing with Joe at recess at school, you would soon follow.  You generally wanted to get sick because you could stay home from school.

Your mother, however, told you to avoid Joe but hell, it was recess...

In reality common sense dictates you avoid things you don't understand.  Especially dangerous ones.

Watch the dog: if he's not sure about something he's cautious.  Why?  Because he knows if he gets into trouble no one will bail him out.  Same with the cat.

Common sense...

But looking back we see there is no caution with regard to Coronavirus.  I wrote this blog post yesterday about how officials in NYC were saying "there's nothing to worry about" and "go ahead and hang in a large group" back in early February and late January 2020.

I wondered...

Where could they have gotten this idea that a strange, foreign disease that was reportedly killing a large percent of its victims, spreads in an unknown fashion, that acted at first like a cold but tried to kill you with pneumonia, and that came from animals was harmless for their constituents?

Seems odd, doesn't it?

Especially, too, given the "global economy" where people form places that have these diseases can freely travel back and forth to places that don't unchecked (in fact encouraged unless you're a racist).

(In fact, we're so smart we let Ebola in the continental US in 2014... but that's another story with the same actors...)

If I were a mayor or sworn public health official I would take something like this seriously (but, I'm ancient too), wouldn't you?

If you look back in time you find our old friend Dr. Fauci saying asymptomatic infection "has never been the driver of outbreaks" in this article.  Who is Fauci, why none other than the head of the Nation Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US.

Perhaps they listened to him?

After a few weeks of, I suppose, miraculous or divine contagion some genius said "hey wait, maybe people who are sick but have no symptoms are spreading this!"  (for example this LA Times article).

These people are apparently this stupid and have zero common sense...

No everyone gets sick when the plague is present.

Since I come from the ancient days I vividly recall the story of Typhoid Mary (also here).  An apparently healthy cook that spread typhoid.  Even after it was discovered by a NYC Health guess what, they let her back out.  Not surprisingly more people died; some fifty one (51) in total.

All children new this story in one form or another and the point was clear: watch out because you never know what's going to get you...

I guess it's not that hard to imagine our leaders, or at least those in NYC, being this dumb.

And dumb here is generational.  NYC let Typhoid Mary back out of custody because she promised to do laundry and not cook any more.

The idiocy apparently extends far beyond Fauci and the rest of the NYC idiots.

This Medium article from March 25, 2020 describes how hospitals spread Coronavirus.

And surprise: Coronavirus is transmitted through the air!

(Hint: Stay out of the fucking hospital.)