The interesting thing about the corona virus outbreak is that it is the first pandemic to grace our lives – as far as we can remember. What started as water cooler chatter about an event halfway across the world suddenly reared its head in our backyards disrupting lives in surprisingly strange ways.
We could not have foreseen that there’d be a run on toilet paper. Surely not the first thing a doomsday prepper would clamour for.
Nor would we have expected such a sharp sell off on the stock market. With plunges sharper than the GFC.
The fear gradually escalated as more containment measures started rolling out. Travel bans, quarantines, workplace enacted work-from-home arrangements. Naturally, a climate of fear triggers a response, like a mad rush to stockpile food and supplies. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare. Panic stricken shoppers appeared to favour:
- canned foods (tuna, baked beans)
- instant noodles
- rice
- frozen vegetables
- meat and poultry
- salt
- eggs
- milk
- pasta sauces and pasta
- toilet paper
- tissues
- paper towels
Despite the advantage of our first world society, it is clear the majority of people are stupid. Fear is rife. We watch with cynical amusement to see what silly trends and behaviours are yet to manifest.
Containment, it seems, is almost impossible given that the virus can be transmitted by people who show no symptoms. Thus, these unknowing-infected are free to roam and our only defense is to observe good hygiene and practise social distancing. Additionally, the absence of a vaccine means we don’t have any means to cushion the blow.
Given these containment challenges, it seems the panic will only subside when the virus saturates the population. This could take time. So we’re in for a ride.
It was said that the outbreak began from the consumption of animals, like bats. Were this true, consider how utterly ridiculous and damaging the fallout has been – all for want of exotic meat.
As a butterfly effect, the events to date have played out in ludicrous fashion. A man in the orient hankers for some bat, on the far side of the world people in supermarkets fight over toilet paper.
Our cynicism aside… what have we learned?
As far as the virus is concerned, it is zoonotic, meaning it can pass from animal to human.
“Zoonotic diseases are hard to get rid of because they have an animal reservoir.”
Alanna Shaikh
These viruses are an ineradicable part of life. So long as there are protected and endangered animals carrying these diseases, they will always be present.
Our best recourse is to enhance the response systems to limit the spread and treat the infected. This outbreak has highlighted that our medical infrastructure is not sufficiently equipped. Furthermore, it has also shown that our supply chains can’t replenish stock levels fast enough after panic shopping.
Returning to the bats, our daily YouTube binge stumbled across an interesting short video discussing the effectiveness of bats as disease repositories.
Bats:
- roost in broods, sharing the “goodness” amongst themselves and between species
- have higher body temperatures as a byproduct of flight
- since viruses are sensitive to temperature, fevers usually weaken them
- human fevers have an upper limit at about 39℃, but bats have body temps of 40℃ so those viruses that evolved to survive within bats remain unharmed by human fevers
- naturally exist in pockets of the wilderness, but humans have encroached on their habitat making transmission possible, through direct contact or indirectly through livestock.
Thus, there is a conservation imperative. If humans leave these animals to their own remote habitat, the geographic separation that previously contained the disease remains in place.