transition said:
surely it must be more than ever, of types, and numbers, you know there’s lots of people, hosts, and transport around the globe
what’s the effect of this, certainly keeps immune systems busy
i’m thinking of possible health effects perhaps related to (more constant) viral exposure, that wouldn’t immediately be associated
and granted some of the effects could be positive, but was more looking for a bordering paranoid hypochondriac indulgence, a malingerers heaven
When I’ve brought up “Lyme Disease” in the past
I always get yelled down (“we don’t have lyme disease here”)
but it’s still a hum-dinger of a malady if you want something to study;
one of the earliest pathogens on earth that takes advantage of a nearly invisible insect as a vector,
A Poppy-Seed Sized Tick which even engorged is only the size of a Sesame Seed… the nymph state
resembles A Grain of Salt. hosted by many animals including mice, birds, squirrels, deer AND DOGS.
IOW, one doesn’t have to be an outdoorsy type to encounter it, it can come to your birdfeeder, or be
all cozy in your attic, using your local vermin for not only a food source but for housing as well, since
it gladly goes into a hibernation state along with it’s host, feeding on it’s life blood, then breeding the
next generation on the next generation of the host’s newborn, to emerge with them in search of a
hardier host capable of spreading itself far and wide.
…rinse & repeat times a million…
meanwhile, the disease itself is capable of going in & out of a dormant state for decades at a time,
and has the ability to mimic so many other debilitating maladies that it can go misdiagnosed almost
indefinitely, and even when a specialist suspects it’s presence, there’s still no effective treatment.
ummm did I mention it’s spreading like wildfire aided by (you guest it) Climate Change?