Unless this is a spate of false positives, IMO we need to admit that Pandora's box is opened. Cases are occurring in individuals who have no apparent connections with or exposures to known infected areas. At this point, attempts to quarantine or limit the spread are probably futile. Those efforts should now be directed toward diagnosis and treatment instead of containment. But that's probably not a politically acceptable response, so we will continue to engage in futile efforts.
My take is that this will become the latest world disease pandemic - more virulent that what people currently living can recall, but actually pretty mild in the overall history of homo sapiens. I know this might sound harsh or insensitive, but it's pretty minor in comparison with diseases such as smallpox, polio, and measles. As this viral strain becomes entrenched, within one to two years, vaccines will be developed that will provide a level of protection, though there will always be recurring outbreaks because viruses readily mutate.
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I guess this is a plea for some perspective. Nature does not give us a "safe world", and IMHO too many people believe that a "risk-free" life is some kind of human right.
It's interesting how societal attitudes change. I'm an OF - I was born in 1951. When I was a boy, parents wanted their children to contract mumps, red measles, German measles, and chicken pox before third or fourth grade. Because contracting those diseases before puberty conferred immunity and the course of the disease in children was much less severe. My mother was extremely concerned because I never contracted mumps or German measles.
Tetanus and diphtheria. And rabies. When my parents grew up, contracting one of those diseases had high fatality. Tetanus and rabies was close to 100%, and as a parent you could only stand by as your child experienced an excruciatingly painful death. I remember having some puncture wounds as a child (e.g., stepping on a board with a rusty nail), and my parents freaked out because that was the type of wound that too often led to death.
Polio!!! When polio vaccines were developed, families couldn't get their children immunized as soon as possible. Because the alternative was usually an iron lung. The best possible outcome was a disability similar to FDR.
www.vox.com
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