Reflecting On COVID

 

Dear Reader,

Just hearing of the daily infection rate of COVID-19 is cause enough for me to believe this virus is a serious matter, but hearing this week the news of the first person that we knew - and knew well - who has died of the COVID-19 virus seems to make the matter strike home a little more.

However, though it is a serious matter, it is only one of a number of issues of profound importance that have raised their head over the last few decades, and issues that seem to have escalated. Apart from Climate Change, epidemics appear to have increased. This time, COVID-19's tentacles have involved virtually the whole world. Should we believe that it's soon going to be over - that it's the end of all epidemics? Further, should we take stock and decide that there are things we all should do to stem this trend?

It is interesting that about a year before COVID-19 raised its head, the WHO produced a report entitled 'Managing Epidemics' (download here) Written in layman's language, it is worthwhile reading in my opinion. It is fascinating to see that the cover to this 2018 report includes images of a virus that looks so similar to the one we have become acclimatised to in media presentations since last year, but not being a scientist myself perhaps I should consider it to be a generic visualisation:

The report made the following, chilling, prediction:

Given the effects of globalization, the intense mobility of human populations, and the relentless urbanization, it is likely that the next emerging virus will also spread fast and far. It is impossible to predict the nature of this virus or its source, or where it will start spreading.

But we can say, with a high degree of certainty, that when it comes, there will be (a) an initial delay in recognising it; (b) a serious impact on travel and trade; (c) a public reaction that includes anxiety, or even panic and confusion, and (d) this will be aided and abetted by media coverage.

Almost too accurate in its prediction, perhaps, and written so close to when COVID-19 appeared.

In its 260 pages, the report covers a lot of issues, of course, and goes into depth about 11 major diseases - COVID-19 (being the 12th) is absent, of course. However, the following passage is key, to my mind, to the essence of what these diseases have been about:

70% of emerging human pathogens come from animals. This is a burgeoning threat, because animals are intensively farmed, transported for trade and kept in close contact with other species and humans in market places.

This text - again - appears to be so uncannily predictive of what has transpired about COVID-19. But the matter concerning animals (and their consumption) is also seriously related to both Climate Change issues and human life-styles. Climate Change is related here because so much carbon dioxide is generated from livestock: "Livestock are responsible for burping the methane equivalent of 3.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually" says this BBC Future report. That growth in livestock has also been the cause of the continued clearance of so much rain forest.

So, as the excessive eating of meat is also linked with several severe diseases (which have already escalated our dependence on the UK NHS), perhaps we should seriously evaluate our values - just what should be the moral basis of our lives? We all need to become philosophers, like it or not, rather than (putting it bluntly) living somewhat like our four-legged friends.

And now we come to the really hot potato

In May, 2020, Dr Gauden Galea of the WHO openly said that for as long as we eat meat, there will be a greater risk of being affected by COVID-19, immediately sparking a whole array of misquotations implying that he said that vegetarians do not attract COVID-19. This is not what he said, as is clarified as follows:

In an email correspondence with The Logical Indian, Dr Gauden Galea said that his words did not intend to endorse any particular diet nor to condemn any other but to recognise that as long as people eat meat, there is a need to rear animals, to slaughter them, and to distribute and sell the products. "The statement was part of a longer discussion about the continued global risk of zoonotic viruses and the potential for 'spillover' into human populations. The intent was not to endorse any particular diet nor to condemn any other, but to recognise that as long as people eat meat, there is a need to rear animals, to slaughter them, and to distribute and sell the products.

This proximity of animals and humans thus generated will create the opportunity, indeed the certainty, of animal-human spillovers of infectious disease. It is important therefore that the trade-in all livestock, from farm to table, be regulated in a One-Health approach looking at animal and human health as one continuum, with all sectors involved acting in unison. This applies to an even greater extent to the illegal trade in wild animals for food where other laws and considerations, from law enforcement to quarantine and conservation, will also apply," he wrote.

Indeed, Dr. Reddy of the WHO appears to have endorsed Dr. Galea's comments but has made further comments to the effect that vegetarians are more likely to have a stronger immune system with which to combat COVID-19.

Should we not therefore seriously consider giving up the consumption of meat and animal products? 

There will always be some people who will not be able to do that for very good reasons, but where we have a choice this must surely be a major decision to be made by us all. The notion of having the freedom of choice is strong in the western world, but surely, when the arguments are stacked in one direction, we must surely stop and seriously think. Sometimes I think we forget that we have a duty to society and the whole world, not just to ourselves and our nearest and dearest.

Going further, The Logical Indian further states that "Writing in an open letter with Viva!, 15 top doctors have advised that going vegan is the quickest and cheapest way of fighting obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease – major risk factors for Covid-19."

The Logical Indian goes on, affirming the WHO report:

As industrialised farming has spread around with world, diseases have followed. Densely packed sheds containing stressed animals, confined in filthy surroundings and being bred for fast growth has lowered their immunity.

It’s an ideal environment for a mutating virus or antibiotic-resistant superbugs to emerge. It’s no surprise, therefore, that three in four new or emerging infectious disease come from animals.

The WHO report also says:

Potentially hazardous changes are also taking place in the use of land, agricultural practices and food production, such as live poultry and animal markets, and deforestation – which also leads to increased contact between people and wildlife. Some of these animals – monkeys, for example - are likely sources of new pathogens. Finally, ecological changes, such as climate change, also contribute to disease transmission.

I suggest there's a lot of food for thought here - please excuse the inexcusable pun!

Just one further matter. To anyone who keeps any tab on what is going on will realise how the media endeavours to make us think in the direction they wish us to go in. The media very often deflects our understanding of the truth. One such matter is the stats concerning deaths from COVID-19. The TV news frequently says how the number of deaths in the USA is so great, followed by India amongst other countries.

The truth of the matter is that it is the rate of death that is the milestone, not the number. Both the USA and India have vastly greater populations than the UK.

So, according to the rate of death, this is the true picture (note that India is way behind the UK):

By the way, Germany's "Deaths/1m Popn" is 556.

Thank you for reading this.