For those interested in this subject, might I suggest reading "Plagues and Peoples" by William H. McNeill. It's a fascinating book on how various infectious diseases have evolved and their effect on the economies and politics of the time. The book gives a whole new slant on history in general. It even suggests that the Christian religion would not have taken off if it were not for some major plagues at the time.. making people rather desperate. The conclusion of the book has a rather ominous forecaste. The authour states that because Nature likes a balanced book, it is inevitable that there will be another huge plague. His reasoning for this comes from comparing human population with viruses, he called it "microparasitism" and "macroparasitism". No virus is going to be a success if it kills it's host. All our so-called "childhood" diseases were once major plagues but those viruses could only survive if they evolved into something less harmful. Anyway, it is an interesting book. Sharon on sunny but cool Vancouver Island
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