Post by Lisa Petrison on Nov 13, 2011 11:17:36 GMT -5
The authors of Age of Autism make an argument that the real "cause" of polio epidemics was not the virus itself (which apparently had been around since time began and exceedingly rarely caused illness), but instead use of arsenic-containing pesticides that allowed the virus to cause more damage.
www.ageofautism.com/2011/09/the-age-of-polio-how-an-old-virus-and-new-toxins-triggered-a-man-made-epidemic-1.html#more
*
"At our current resolution, we posit that molecular changes in pathogens are but one component of a constellation of factors contributing to changing infectious disease prevalence and severity, where genetics of the host population, climate, vector dynamics, social conditions and synergistic interactions with concurrent diseases should be foremost in discussions of population susceptibility to infectious disease and host–pathogen relationships with reference to Y. pestis infections."
www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7370/full/nature10549.html
www.ageofautism.com/2011/09/the-age-of-polio-how-an-old-virus-and-new-toxins-triggered-a-man-made-epidemic-1.html#more
*
"At our current resolution, we posit that molecular changes in pathogens are but one component of a constellation of factors contributing to changing infectious disease prevalence and severity, where genetics of the host population, climate, vector dynamics, social conditions and synergistic interactions with concurrent diseases should be foremost in discussions of population susceptibility to infectious disease and host–pathogen relationships with reference to Y. pestis infections."
www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7370/full/nature10549.html
