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Post by EspadaIII on Jan 30, 2020 9:37:40 GMT
China seems to be a significant source of similar diseases etc. India which is similarly densely populated (and other densely populated countries) seem not to be.
What is special about China? Is it poor hygiene, the food they eat, the public displays of coughing, spitting etc (so I am told)?
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jan 31, 2020 6:08:05 GMT
Hygiene standards at food markets in China are a particular concern. Animals are caught in the wild and sold live, along with whatever pathogens they may be infected with.
Coronavirus (one word) is a term that covers a large group of viruses that cause respiratory tract infections in mammals, including the common cold in humans. What they have in common is a genome consisting of a single strand of RNA, rather than the double strand of DNA found in more complex organisms. This makes for more copying errors in reproduction, so a high rate of genetic mutation. Most of these mutations are inviable, but every so often, one will accidentally equip a virus to infect a different host organism — jumping the so-called ‘species barrier’.
This is why the live food markets are a hazard. In the wild, mutant viruses capable of infecting humans would have no selective advantage and would quickly die out. Viruses (unlike bacteria) also need living cells to reproduce in, so dead animals brought to market are not infectious.
At the markets, the mutant virus finds a ready supply of human hosts. Once it’s in the human population, it only takes another mutation to make human-to-human infection possible — and with trillions of replications every day, that is entirely likely to happen.
India (to generalize) is a much less carnivorous culture than China, and doesn’t have wild food markets. The coronaviruses are there too, of course, but they are not presented with the same opportunities to infect humans.
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Post by EspadaIII on Jan 31, 2020 7:00:05 GMT
Thanks. That's very informative.
I have been valuing Chinese take-aways for years and never understood why their natural hygiene procedures were less rigorous than other ethnicities. They will eat anything.
Ignoring the religious aspect, there must have been a sensible reason why some religions forbade eating certain foods or combinations of foods.
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Post by Humph on Feb 26, 2020 15:06:49 GMT
At the barbers this morning, a bloke in the queue coughed a bit and excused himself with a muttered (subsequently qualified as a "joke") comment about having not felt well since he got back from China...
Oh how we laughed...or not, you could have heard a pin drop for the few seconds it took for him to explain himself.
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Post by tyrednexited on Feb 26, 2020 15:09:31 GMT
...all those people at the NEC, and all those caravans made in Northern Italy......
....I hope you haven't got many plans for the next few weeks.......
(Mind you, it's only a taxi-ride to Arrowe Park for you, isn't it?)
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Post by Humph on Feb 26, 2020 15:12:25 GMT
There was a trade show in Milan last week that I would normally have attended. Didn't have time to go this year thank goodness.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2020 15:44:22 GMT
At the barbers this morning, a bloke in the queue coughed a bit and excused himself with a muttered (subsequently qualified as a "joke") comment about having not felt well since he got back from China... Oh how we laughed...or not, you could have heard a pin drop for the few seconds it took for him to explain himself. Probably the same bloke who placed this lonely hearts ad: Man with coronavirus seeks woman with Lyme disease for happy hour.
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Post by dixinormus on Feb 28, 2020 23:59:58 GMT
First corona virus case in NZ announced late on Friday afternoon. Panic buying at Auckland supermarkets started almost immediately...
It’s the economic impact that worries me more than the health alert at the moment.
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 29, 2020 22:44:26 GMT
The reduction in NOx pollution in China is incredible. The result of very limited travel internally. Is this the world's way of reducing populations and pollution in one hit....?
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 4, 2020 6:56:48 GMT
Yep, like I said in another thread: it’d be an interesting social experiment if we all stayed at home for a month...
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Post by Humph on Mar 4, 2020 8:47:48 GMT
It does, quite often occur to me to wonder where all these people are going and why when I'm sitting in yet another traffic jam. I guess we all feel that our own journeys are essential of course.
Seem to remember reading something years ago though that a significant percentage of car journeys are incredibly short and would easily be walkable.
Some ( including me ) would argue that I drive far too much. But, in my defence, it would never cross my mind to drive the mile or so into my local town when I can much more easily and often more quickly, walk or cycle in.
My neighbour drives ( in heavy traffic ) a mile and a half to his office and back daily when he could stroll across the the rather pleasant local park, cutting the corner and get there in much the same amount of time having had the benefit of a leg stretch and a bit of fresh air.
I don't really get that.
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Post by EspadaIII on Mar 4, 2020 20:46:59 GMT
"My neighbour drives ( in heavy traffic ) a mile and a half to his office and back daily when he could stroll across the the rather pleasant local park, cutting the corner and get there in much the same amount of time having had the benefit of a leg stretch and a bit of fresh air."
A friend of mine, a dentist, who lives less than one mile from his surgery, drives. The excuse is he goes home at lunchtime and lies down for 30 minutes, 30 minutes he wouldn't get if he walked. But if he walked, he might not need to lie down....
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 4, 2020 22:12:14 GMT
Perhaps if he had a nice reclining chair at work...?
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Post by EspadaIII on Mar 4, 2020 22:58:59 GMT
You would think so. We rib him about it unmercifully but it has no effect. His wife works in the practice as the manager and I assume they go home together, so maybe some child-free rumpy pumpy takes place, I wouldn't know. But none of us would consider driving that distance. How the cars have not been destroyed amazes me.
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 5, 2020 0:18:54 GMT
I kind of understand short trips: heavy shopping, rainy weather, small kids or elderly passengers aboard etc.
What amazes me is the amount of mid/long-haul travel we are undertaking these days. Daily commutes of 100+ miles each way, several short overseas holidays each year, weekends in Barcelona etc. it’s a lot of faff, and rarely very cheap even if the advertised airfare is low. Airports, access roads and car parks are hectic places to start with. Isn’t it more relaxing just to stay at home more often?
I used to commute weekly from Denmark to London - what was I thinking?! I stopped shortly after the time when 4 days’ parking at Stansted cost more than the Ryanair fare...
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