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Sunday 20th 40-64F, dead calm, clear with bright sunshine. Taller mist, today, but not so much of it. A delightful walk to the far woods. Not a soul to be seen and total silence apart from the birds. A large, pale bird of prey rose from the ground and hid in a tall conifer. Try as I might I couldn't see it.
Access to the woods had improved to cater for timber harvesting. So I followed several loops which were new to me. It was lovely to walk in dappled shade beneath the towering trees. With birds flitting from branch to branch high above.
The temperature was perfect for a t-shirt and my thin, camouflage jacket. My Scarpa boots continue to travel completely unnoticed. There is no finer praise for walking boots!
An interesting theory has been put forward for the high number of deaths to Jinping Plague in Sweden. They died this year from Jinping Plague because they hadn't died from last year's weak flu season. Had the normal number of vulnerable people died [as expected] from flu, then they would never have figured in the Jinping Plague toll.
The danger now, as we approach winter, will be the [potentially] lethal combination of both diseases simultaneously. Those with mild or no symptoms, from their Jinping Plague infection, may suddenly find themselves suffering a "double whammy." I haven't heard any experts discussing how each disease might affect the other.
Flu might trigger the presently missing symptoms of an existing Jinping Plague infection. Thanks to an unexpected immune response to the combination of viral attacks. It is estimated that 30 million people have been infected. With close to a million dead so far. I should emphasise that pre-existing health conditions greatly affect the outcome of cases with severe symptoms.
The callous disregard for other's safety, shown by many younger people, may well come back to haunt them! I am speculating here. Only time will tell. It is ironic that the 1918 flu pandemic occurred almost exactly 100 years ago. 500 million were infected and 50,000,000 died.
Of course medicine has moved on in the last century. The race is on to see if a safe vaccine can be discovered, tested and mass produced. Hopefully in time to save a catastrophic loss of life and economic collapse.
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