Vaccinating the World's Top Predators May Be the Only Way to Save Them
motherboard.vice.com
motherboard.vice.com
Almost every extinction I've read about was caused at the end by an infection of some kind (fungus, parasite, virus, etc). Sure there might have been other factors that weakened the animal or plant, but the nail in the coffin seemed to always be an infection.
Hunting and other animal predators can massively reduce the numbers, but extinct to zero almost always seemed to me to be an infection at end. Without that they seem to hold on at low numbers, but not gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYN0z52x4pw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLaLUyH4-vo
9 of each 10 wild lions living in Africa 60 years ago were exterminated in just one human generation. Our generation. We will not save them only with vaccines.
Whenever humans meddle with the environment there are drastic unintended consequences. I get it, they're charismatic animals and that's probably why I'm being downvoted, but I don't think this is a particularly unreasonable dissenting opinion.
Dinosaurs couldn't possibly still be around. They existed in an era with a much more dense atmosphere and a much higher concentration of oxygen (30% vs 16%, iirc). The type of lung they had and the size of body they had -- they would suffocate here in our current atmosphere. It would be like a really bad case of altitude sickness.
I think that's a very different scenario from what this article talks about, where humans have basically created this virus by domesticating dogs and having a fairly homogenous population of domesticated animals globally and now there are several billion humans...etc....and it is killing wild animals that shouldn't be all getting exposed to the same illness.
I really think this is a very different thing from natural extinction of dinosaurs.
That's a dumbed-down explanation from a third-rate viral site, which exists solely to generate clicks from Facebook, and not an actual medical or scientific description of the tiger's condition.
Edit: It looks like the very definition of Down Syndrome (three copies of the 21st chromosome instead of two) doesn't really allow for an "animal version", since the 21st chromosome is specific to humans.
Previous attempts to control the spread of CDV into wild populations focused on stopping the virus at the presumed source—domestic dogs. Unfortunately, research now shows that top predators are probably contracting CDV from smaller wild animals that act as intermediaries. The simplest solution, then—ensuring that humans vaccinate their pets—may no longer be an effective option.
Edit: So admitting to being moderately anit-vax is adequate reason for being downvoted to hell, even though it was given as a qualifier to strengthen my statement that this plan to vaccinate big cats sounds like it has merit.
Wow.
Sometimes I wonder why people with this conviction dont just move to locations of low vaccination. I hear places in SE Asia, some parts of Africa have low vaccination rates, more out of poverty than conviction, but low rates non the less
In part due to happenstance, in part because doctors were not really doing much for me, I sort of fell into a lot of alternative med stuff. I began getting gradually healthier, even though I had spent a year at death's door. All of the people who were actually helping me get stronger while doctors wrote me off for dead were very strongly anti-vax.
The first two or three years following my diagnosis, when I was prescribed the flu shot, my doctor said 'Sign here and roll up your sleeve." and gave it to me right then and there. Then one year my check-up was a few weeks before the vaccine was available, so he wrote me a prescription. By then, I was already seeing a lot of gains from the "crazy" alternative med stuff I was doing. It was easy enough to just not get that prescription filled. I haven't had another vaccine since then.
Fourteen years ago, I nearly died and spent 3.5 years in bed. Now, I walk four or more hours a day and I am gradually getting my life back.
I am not on some campaign to convince people that vaccines are bad. I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. For complex reasons, I happen to be in a position where I can reasonably comfortably fence-sit on this issue and not develop a strong opinion. But, as things stand now, I don't plan to get any more flu shots. I think I am better off using other tactics to protect my health.
I have a form of cystic fibrosis.
Did they recommend it to decrease your chances of getting the flu? If you have a medical condition, I would imagine that preventing other infections is kind of a no-brainer as the literally most basic step towards care.
I don't want to make it sound like I'm jumping down your throat; I have no idea what your circumstances are, although I'm sure they're worse than mine.
Unfortunately, this isn't one of those situations where you can fence-sit, because fence-sitting means you don't get vaccinated, which undermines public health and allows for the accelerated spread of diseases that can cripple or kill other people.
I have a compromised immune system. So it seems to me that by your own logic, I am someone entitled to not vaccinate.
You don't have a great feeling with the doctors because they don't have all the answers for you, and it took along time to diagnosis your condition. I also had to deal with that 'why is this happening to me?' moment, and the doctor just shrugged. They don't have all the answers. But for the things that we do have answers for, not using those answers is crazy.
It might have gone better if you stated that, because you can't get the vaccine, you believe everyone else who is able to should, so that you also remain protected. That's a very valid argument.
I will continue to speak my mind as I see fit and accept the downvotes, if necessary, thank you.
And yes, herd immunity from the flue vaccine does protect baby's so it really is that simple.
PS: At best you can clam ignorance, but you really are suggesting direct harm to other people based on a gut feeling. And that's just not ok by most people.
So few people take the flu vaccine that there's no possibility of establishing general herd immunity, even if the experts guess right every flu season (this year they didn't for the Northern Hemisphere, or at least the US). On the smaller scale it's wise, e.g. now that I'm living with my 81 year old father, partly to help take care of him, that's an additional reason I take the vaccine.
I suspect that alternative medicine is better at symptom management, giving quality of life, and uplifting spirits. Doctors often have a too mechanical view of humans.
Nevertheless, I suspect that your disease weakens your immune system, and _for that specific symptom_ the flu vaccine was prescribed. The flu vaccine was not meant as a general quality of life improvement.
And along these lines, vaccines and alternative medicine are not mutually exclusive. They solve different things.
Here's something to try: Get your flu vaccine while continuing your alternative medicine? My hypothesis is that there will be no downside except for pissing off your alternative medicine doctorfolk.
You should also read up on how vaccines are made and what are contained in them, and then get into a discussion about vaccines with your alternative medicine people. You'll be astounded at their ignorance. Last year I was at an engagement party with an anti-vax crowd in Olympia, WA. They don't even know the first basics. But maybe I should check my B.S in Biochemistry privilege.
Thank you.
Plenty of people wanted me to try 'alternative' medicine and if I had it would have seemed useful, but sometimes doing nothing works and 'alternative' medicine often gets creadit for a lot of situations when doing nothing would have worked just as well.
Often alternative medicine suggests a diet change and that can be far more useful than you might think. Could be the new diet adds stuff your missing or you old diet included things that where bad for you. In the second case they could suggest you eat pizza and donuts which actually helps. Many things are stress related so a little hope and a better mindset can be extremely useful. Other times it's an environmental hazard that goes away because some plaint up river changed their process and stopped dumping XYZ.
The point of all that is clinical trials are necessary. But, at an individual level trying random crap can be useful.
Thanks!
So, I understand your circumstance, I don't quite get people who oppose vaccinations ideologically.
I am on the fence because doctors wrote me off for dead and had no goal at all of actually getting me well. They were content to watch me slowly die and blame my genetic disorder (in other words, conveniently wash their hands of all responsibility). The people who were actually helping me were extremely strongly anti-vax, and it wasn't an "ideology." They were actively involved in treating people with serious issues whom they believed had been harmed by vaccines (as just one of the underlying causes of the problems these people had). Some of them had impressive credentials, like PhDs. One was a former RN who had studied multiple alternative medicine modalities to keep her children alive, children who were anaphylactic to antibiotics. These were not "crazies" nor were they ideologues. They were people who were helping me save my life after doctors wrote me off for dead and found me annoying for not wanting to politely die so that they could feel like they knew everything.
These people who were so strongly anti-vax were people who earned my deepest respect. I never studied the issue and never came to a particular conclusion about vaccines generally. But these people who earned my respect and saved my life planted the seeds of doubt. Furthermore, the people who claim to have science on their side and claim that vaccines are absolutely proven beyond a shadow of a doubt are generally not behaving rationally nor respectfully when they drag my name through the mud for expressing doubt. They generally aren't behaving in a manner that earns my respect and paints them as truly logical and informed. They are the ones that come across to me as ideologues with closed minds, much more so than the intelligent, knowledgeable people who caused me to decide to skip my flu shot and see if that made any difference.
There was one study which claimed that vaccines were dangerous, which was both unscientific and unethical, performed by someone with an agenda, and which was retracted.
Now it's all about doubt. People are saying 'we just don't know what they do' (we do!), or 'what if they cause autism' (they don't!) or 'it's a personal choice' (it's not!).
It doesn't help that in the US, the medical industry is for-profit, the pharmaceutical industry runs rampant, and the public doesn't trust either one because it doesn't have their best interests in mind. That leads to lots of FUD about vaccines (and modern medicine in general) which is difficult to combat.
I'm actually surprised that this view is so unpopular here...
I certainly am not Anti-Growth; but I do believe that per-capita Growth can be accomodated with a decrease in the nominal economy. I think, as yet, the only known, surefire way of doing this is by improving education (esp. that of Women) and the economy.