BIOL 115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Global Warming, Sub-Saharan Africa, Bushmeat
23 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
Bacteria and viruses, part ii + climate change. Infected 500 million people and killed ~2. 5% of population. The virus was strange for a few reasons: there were three waves of infection, very close together in time. The second wave was the most deadly especially strange since you might expect greater immunity during the second wave: healthy, young adults had surprisingly high death rates. By comparison, seasonal flu kills <0. 1% of population annually, almost entirely very young or very old individuals: effects of the virus were really rapid. Disease was both highly transmissible and highly virulent! The virus is pathogenic because it activates the hosts" inflammatory response: triggers a tremendous immune response that destroys the hosts" own cells. This could be why it"s so deadly in young adults, people 20-40 years old, because they have strong, active immune systems! Because bodies of infected people were buried in the permafrost, it was possible to: Collect specimens of the virus decades later.
