Ebola, Urbanization and the Spanish Flu

I’m struck by a thought that I haven’t seen anyone talk about – the effect of urbanization on the spread of pandemics. And, I’m surprised that so little is being said about this.

Yet, it would have been the growth in city population (i.e., urbanization) that had to have been one of the leading causes for why so many died of the Spanish Flu. Those living in cities would have had a dramatically higher chance of dying from the 1918 Flu Pandemic, than those who live outside the cities, on a farm.

Even more interesting is the fact that the Spanish Flu of 1918 was less lethal than Ebola – ‘only’ killing between 10% and 20% of its victims.

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Ebola, Urbanization and the Spanish Flu

As I said yesterday, there ARE diseases out there that are worse than Ebola, so we had better wake up now to this threat, before we are engulfed by something worse. And, the best model for this threat is the 1918 Flu Pandemic.

Then And Now

Unfortunately that model is out of date because life is quite a bit different today, than it was almost a hundred years ago. Today, we zip around on planes, trains and automobiles. Back then, we didn’t zip at all, and were lucky to even SEE an automobile, let alone ride in one.

• In 1918, world population was under two billion, and today it’s more than three times that, at 7.1 billion.

• In 1918, about 50% of the US lived in cities. Today, it’s 81%.

• In 1918, the mortality rate for the Spanish Flu was between 10% and 20%. The mortality rate for Ebola is between 60% and 90%.

• In 1918, between 3% and 6% of the world’s population died of the Spanish Flu, or about 50-100 million people. Today, we won’t know how many will die before it’s over.

• In 1918, the pandemic came in three waves, with the second wave being the deadliest. Today, we haven’t even finished the first wave of Ebola.

• In 1918, American Samoa avoided having a single death from that dreadful influenza pandemic because Governor John Martin Poyer imposed a complete blockade. Today, President Obama demands open borders.

In both cases there are/were no defenses or effective treatment. Yet, we are far, far more vulnerable now to pandemic disease, than ever before. We travel more quickly, more often and much farther. We live in cities, instead of farms. Our population is three times greater, and we are faced with a pandemic that kills a far higher percentage of its victims.

We Are Worse Off Now

Even worse, we have a population that has been so dumbed down, that we passively accept the pronouncements of the US President and the CDC – instead of rising up and shouting them down.

I really don’t care how you want to look at this Ebola pandemic. If it’s a hoax, the US government has committed treason. If it’s real, the government has committed treason. If it’s a hoax, something worse than Ebola is coming. If it’s not a hoax… well …Ebola is coming.

And, if Ebola fizzles out… as I said before …there are worse things than Ebola.

Add to that, the fact that we are more vulnerable to pandemic disease now, than in 1918, and you have a recipe for something truly horrifying.

The Way Forward

There are two things that should guide us in the days ahead:

• The Bible

• History

Governor John Martin Poyer saved his island from the Spanish Flu by closing the borders. Since America refuses to do that, you must be ready to find a place where you can keep infection as far from yourself as possible.

When it comes to pandemic disease, quarantine is the ONLY solution.

I truly hope that you’ll be ready for this
(That’s a link. There’s not much time left.)

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. – Proverbs 22:3