For those of you that visit cemeteries and read the headstones, you might be interested in this tidbit that connects the large number of 1917-1919 death dates to today.
What's Old is New
The main reason for that is modern medicine and health care (vaccines, reduction of secondary infections, nutrition, etc). Look at the difference in mortality rates between developed and under-developed countries (e.g. Mexico). Mexico, China, etc. were hard-hit.I remember reading that troop ships left the U.S. for the trip to Britain and got there with over a third of their men dead of influenza.
Has anyone noticed the the global H1N1 pandemic hasn't killed anywhere near that many people?
Correct, it was. And it cycled between 1917-1920 in waves (mobility of the infected?), with first breakouts in late 1916.True, and I think we might add sanitation to that list. But even in less-developed countries it wasn't anywhere near the killer that the 1916-1919 flu was. (Didn't they call it the Spanish Flu?)
Not genetically. There CAN be a genetic predisposition for stronger immune systems, but specific antibodies are not passed down. (except in the case of a newborn and a nursing mother-some are, indeed, passed along that way.)Thanks for providing "the rest of the story" with the original strain vs H1N1 and how it morphed into something new then back into it's almost original state.
My question is this.... Are antibodies only present when an individual is exposed or can the antibodies be passed from parent to child if the parent has the antibodies?
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Both. Examples of active immunity (the former) and passive immunity (the latter). The reason Native Americans were so susceptible to European/Asian continent diseases was because they had neither passive or active immunity to diseases infesting other continents. That scenario is called 'virgin soil' epidemics.My question is this.... Are antibodies only present when an individual is exposed or can the antibodies be passed from parent to child if the parent has the antibodies?
In the colostrum; the protein-rich secretion that precedes the milk.Some are passed on within Mother's milk.
Which is why colostrum is so important to neonates. Pregnant sheep vaccinated against cowpox give birth to newborn lambs who are immune and that vaccinial immunization of mothers leads to immunity. That was one of the first discoveries of passive immunity and antibody transfer.Not genetically. There CAN be a genetic predisposition for stronger immune systems, but specific antibodies are not passed down. (except in the case of a newborn and a nursing mother-some are, indeed, passed along that way.)
Probably the most significant contribution of modern medicine is prevention and reduction of secondary infections.Exposure is the only way to produce the antibodies (vaccines are exposure). At the present time, exactly ZERO viral infections can be cured by modern medicine, they can only be prevented.