Throughout history, we have been subject to various epidemics and pandemics that have caused empires to crumble, continents to open up and civilizations to retreat. Of course this might have been just as prevalent in prehistoric times but the evidence is of course less conclusive.
Most of us are aware of how European diseases decimated the native populations of the Americas making conquest and colonization much easier than it otherwise might have been.
There are many other examples of how infectious diseases impacted civilization and the course of world history, some more controversial than others, but I don't have time here to detail all or even many of them, but there are plenty of sources for those interested.
It is extremely likely that we will see another such outbreak, at some point. While in many ways we have increased our ability to combat diseases and awareness of what causes them and how to prevent them we are playing a losing hand in our fight against nature and the evolution of deadly microbes.
We see movies and books that treat this horrific scenario as, well horror, but its not a fictional problem.
The dangers are real and from a humans point of view, maybe the most serious threat we face. While war, terrorism and crime are issues, note that the flu killed more people worldwide in two years then World War I did in four, and it wasn't really close.
Failure to understand this and provide funding to combat potentially deadly diseases is really criminal, especially if its because of petty political reasons.
Outbreaks in the past were both deadly and indiscriminate, not caring who you were, how rich you were or generally your nationality.
I know that research and prevention are the only real weapons we have and if our politicians won't use them we need new ones.
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