(I found a discrepancy in the Discover chart and my research. Other sources say that this plague lasted until 549 AD, five years longer.) There are 19 plagues listed on the Discover chart. Reading about the ravages of each pandemic definitely causes consternation and an acute awareness of the situation in which we are now absorbed. Every century has major and minor plagues. I had wondered how my Mother, who lived to be 101 years of age, survived so many devastating events and diseases, having had the Spanish Flu at seven years of age. It was the worst pandemic on record. There were those who survived combat to only return home to die of Spanish flu. My Mother told me of a relative to whom this happened. It is believed that the Spanish flu began at a USA Army base in Kansas. When the troops from that base were deployed to the war in Europe, they were in close contact in the trenches, trucks, tanks and combat. War and a pandemic do not make good bedfellows! The Spanish flu lasted only two years, 1918 -1920, but in that short time, 50 million people died. I have often wondered why my lifetime has been free of major contagious diseases and catastrophic world events. It appears that I have lived long enough that these reoccurring invisible flu enemies are manifesting themselves and have been with us longer than I realized, just not turning into the pandemic stage.
A friend reminded me of the polio fright and I remember as a child how difficult it was to comprehend my parent’s fear of polio. However the Discover chart does list numerous diseases in the present century. HIV/AIDS began in 1981 and continues to the present. It has killed 25-35 million. Then there is the Asian Flu, the Hong Kong Flu, Sars, Mers, Swine Flu, Ebola and now Covid 19. Hannah Hoag published an article in Nature magazine (Feb 2014) discussing how “The influenza is a virus that evolves at different rates in different hosts—faster in birds than horses.” She recalls 1872 when the influenza killed so many horses that the streets were bare in Washington, D.C. and other cities. People who handled the horses became infected with the H7N7 virus. Oh my, what an intertwined life we lead! Invisible, minuscule micro organisms are always with us. They have the ability to evolve and change rapidly. Which we don’t. We know how Covid 19 spreads and how to lessen the chance of exposure to it. It has been only 6-7 months since the pandemic began—not 5 to 15 years as has happened in some historical pandemics. Have faith. Be careful. Be safe. Mother Teresa advised,”Be happy in the moment, that is enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” [email protected] ©Ann Rains, September 2020
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