Plague update

RantWoman is taking a break from swine flu for a few moments to explore other diseases which seem either scarier in fact or potentially at least as scary as swine flu.

First, take tuberculosis:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/larrydonohue/archives/171509.asp

RantWoman did not punch through to figure out what was meant by a comment about tuberculosis not only where one would expect it, but for those in need of recreational panic generators, they are all over the place with TB.

RantWoman finds herself in this vein reflecting on current health policy debates. RantWoman notes that many health care providers are promising to cut costs by managing chronic conditions better. RantWoman wishes to point out that all protestations of such good intentions will go up in smoke immediately if people do not have access to primary care. RantWoman sees no way that access to primary care will happen without a publicly-based plan.

RantWoman remembers the grassroots healthcare summits of a couple years back when even people in really conservative places like, say, Mississippi voted overwhelmingly for the concept of single-payer health care. RantWoman wishes she could imagine coping with potential pandemics without bringing up national health care. RantWoman also knows that universal coverage is not sufficient for getting an early handle on emerging pandemics. However, RantWoman's braing short-circuits back to the topic every time pandemic flu comes up.

In terms of pestilence, we must of course worry obsessively not only about conditions affecting humans but also about plant maladies. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_wheat_of_doom.html RantWoman is impressed by the fearmongering about wheat crops at risk and equally impressed that copy-editing new media style at the Seattle PI produced this whole piece and never once listed the name of the disease. RantWoman supposes sticking the professor's name in one's favorite search engine would do the trick. RantWoman also wonders whether some strains of wheat might in fact be resisitant to this condition or whether there are other ways to control this by deviating from monoculture or.... RantWoman wonders this but she herself has other amusements ahead of more research on her to-do list.


Now the topic we all know and love, swine flu.

King County is up to somewhere between 1 and 3 actual deaths.

Here is WHO's latest update
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_06_19/en/index.html

Since RantWoman is fixated on pedestrian issues and health equity, RantWoman will add the following links just for good measure:

Half of road fatalities are pedestrians, motorcyclists, bicyclists
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2009/road_safety_report_20090615/en/index.html

Healthcare equity is always a good thing
http://www.who.int/dg/speeches/2009/global_health_20090615/en/index.html