I was reading recently about 10,000 campers exposed to Hantavirus in the Yosemite Campground. Statistics say that 1/3 of those who contract this virus (contracted by inhaling atomized rat urine) will die.
This had me thinking about the poor exposed humans and also thinking of others who live out there in the wild and come into contact with such things as Lyme disease, Yellow Fever, Hantavirus and West Nile, not to mention water infected with E. coli, tetanus, bubonic plague, rabies, and all the potential for infection. Those others, being Bigfoot.
How is it that Bigfoot manages to live and thrive in spite of these deadly encounters? It seems like sickly and dying BFs should have shown up at some point, weak and unable to defend themselves as they waste away from deadly disease. This either supports the concept of a strong social construct that circles the wagons and takes care of them and buries them when they pass, or exceptionally healthy constitutions in which they may have immunity to things that would kill many of us.
During the bubonic plague, a group of people didn't die from the disease and it was recently found through their descendents that they had a gene in common that is associated with their immune systems. Studying these people's blood can teach us much about future remedies and preventions, or even cures. Could the same be true of Bigfoot some day? Will he be able to teach us how to make ourselves stronger, more resilient and immune?
I guess the more important question is, will having contact with humans in any way endanger his health with diseases he has not come into contact with - especially given all the folks resistant to vaccinating their children and outbreaks of measles and whooping cough occurring once again?
Only time will tell how this all plays out, but there might be a good deal about health and longevity we can learn from each other when the time comes to acknowledge and consciously live beside these elusive people.
No comments:
Post a Comment