I was reading Dr. Greger's latest post about the meat industry suing the state of California because California passed a law "meant to keep “downed” animals — those too sick and disabled to walk to slaughter — out of the American food supply."Anyway, this item stood out:
"Even if one doesn’t eat meat, more than half of downer pigs tested in the Midwest were found to be actively infected with swine flu, both the classic swine flu virus and the triple hybrid mutant that led to the 2009 human pandemic that killed more than ten thousand Americans."Where have I been? The 2009 swine flu killed 10,000 Americans?
Recalling the 2009 swine flu:
- April, 2009 - An outbreak of influenza occurred in Mexico and the US.
- June 11, 2009 - WHO declared an H1N1 pandemic.
- October 25, 2009 - President Obama officially declared H1N1 a national emergency.
Maybe it would be a good idea to minimize flu outbreaks in factory-farmed livestock herds, since factory farming isn't going away anytime soon.
Yikes.
ReplyDeleteOh, btw, I had to sit through an orientation for my new part-time job at a nunnery nursing home. The head nurse showed the most disgusting cartoon video about how bacteria and other microbes spread. I didn't think I was all that obsessive-compulsive, but I didn't want to touch anything after she was done! Yech! SOOOOOO glad I'm not a nurse. And all these nursing staff and food-service staff sitting in on the meeting were snuffling, blowing their noses, sneezing (not into their elbow)--GROSS!
ReplyDeleteNot into their elbow :)
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm really afraid of MRSA, the strains of bacteria resistant to drugs.
Back in school, micro lab, we were given petri dishes and q-tips and told to go out and swab anything and everything in the building. Fun. We could get more to grow from a swab of the handle on the bathroom door than from the toilet seats.
Yes, they showed us that too (the petri dishes). And they've actually had cases of MRSA & C-diff there at the nursing home. Meanwhile, the new-hire (young) nurses were overhead (by me) on their cell phones telling whomever was on the other end that they were having a lecture on how infection spreads "or some bull like that." Sigh.
ReplyDeleteRe bathroom door knobs, it pays to hold onto the toweling w/ which you dry your hands and use *that* to open the door to exit. I almost never see anyone doing that. I learned it years ago from a story on NPR.
lol ... I use the towel to open the door too! Except in the newer ones where all they have are blowers.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to say the bathroom door really bothers me.
ReplyDelete1. The doors should always swing out, so I can put my shoulder into it when leaving.
2. I always use a towel or the tail end of my shirt to grab the handles if necessary (see point 1).
shaun
Good idea Shaun. Bix, carry a few Kleenexes w/ you for those blower-only bathrooms!
ReplyDeleteMy hands are crispy from washing them so often.
ReplyDeleteFactory farming is killing us in so many unexpected ways.
ReplyDelete