Scott McPherson's Web Presence

(Photo Credit Boston Globe)

It has been four years exactly -- to the day -- that I wrote my last blog.  That blog was the COVID-19 Mexican Standoff, and if you read it, I think it holds up very well.  I stopped blogging because so much was happening so quickly, it was difficult to stay abreast of developments.  The conventional and social media press took over the narrative, and I decided to drop back and let the infectious disease experts take over.  In other words, I got out of the way. 

Now, four years later, I am rebranding my efforts toward the larger topic of resilience.  "Resilience" is a hot word these days, covering everything from pandemics to natural disasters to more human-on-human endeavors. 

But my top concern is pandemics.  It is what I am best known for, and I will not disappoint. And I see two potential pandemics on the horizon:  H5N1 Bird Flu, and Chronic Wasting Disease. Mike Osterhoilm warned us in 2020, on Joe Rogan's podcast, that this disease would jump species, and it has.

But the more immediate threat is our old nemesis avian influenza.  Bird flu virus in milk: Sample bought in Mass. tests positive (bostonglobe.com) and Scientists call new measures to control bird flu in cows ‘a drop in the bucket’ | Science | AAAS  detail how inadequate and disjointed our countermeasures are at this time. 

Longtime readers of this blog understand the mechanics of the imfluenza virus, and you would be rightly concerned about the 50% death rate for cats drinking raw milk from infected cows.  You would also be rightly concerned about the mentions of pigs.  Pigs, as you (should) know, are the "mixing vessel," able to be infected by bird flu and human flu simultaneously. This "mixing vessel" can the ninternally cook up an avian flu that contains just enough human segments to produce a pandemic strain of a killer flu never before seen. 

You would also be rightly scared to read this new "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" mentality behind the explosive growth of raw milk product consumption.  I can see a day approaching when raw milk products are banned from store shelves and from sale at dairies. 

So, it is good to be back, because I do have things to say, and I will most definitely say them. See you soon.

Scott