ATS.F: Economics and Plagues

PODcast: Economics and Plagues
DeusEx ponders the effects of pandemics on economics

length: 03:28
file: atsfpod_851.mp3
size: 3260k
feed: atsf
status: live (at time of posting)

Modern super drugs keeping the mortality down?

You should read up on the resistance of the virus to tamiflu, and the lack of treatment in general for viruses - it is a big issue for that very fact. While the economic effects are definitely worthy of consideration, you've being very misleading with that statement.

Let me put it like this, dear Parr- have you ever taken antibiotics?

Penicillin?

I know I have. And I know that without it, I would be in the ground. I caught this real awful bronchitis or something when I was younger, and it sure did fix my little red wagon. I was taking penicillin three times a day for two weeks. We're reliant on drugs like that to keep us going when we get sick, and THIS is a fact.

How do we get multi-resistant strains of any given disease?

Overuse of modern superdrugs that while effective leave a small number of resistant bacteria or viri alive.

DE

[edit on 10-11-2005 by DeusEx]

Penicillin does not do anything to a virus. Nor does any antibiotic. If the antibiotics you took for bronchitis helped at all, it's because it was bacterial bronchitis.

You're right, were reliant on such drugs to keep us going. It is a fact. But it is also a fact that antibiotics do nothing for virsuses, and more specifically, do nothing to treat influenza. The only antivirals availible to treat influenza are effective only during the earliest part of illness, will be inaccessible to most, and may not work that well against this virus (With regard to Tamiflu, it's only been shown effective in mice) or will only do so in heightened doses thus diminishing those precious stockpiles (as has been seen in Vietnam).

As I said before, read up on influenza antivirals and you'll see there's no miracle superdrug here that's going to stop people from dying - if it comes to that.