Thread: 5 second rule

Originally Posted by drewmandan

Uh...E coli is in China? I'm not sure what you mean. Of course there are isolated pathogens, like Malaria in Africa, but then there are a million pathogens that aren't isolated. If not living in China made you truly vulnerable to most, or even a tenth, of all the pathogens in China, you would instantly die when you stepped off the plane from a dozen different diseases.

What?

You said "most viruses and bacteria are international." I asked for a source where I could verify that information. As of now, the consensus seems to be that "it's just common knowledge," and I'm just supposed to know it - so common, in fact, that I can't find a single article that confirms it. So I'm asking you for one.

Or was "E. Coli is in China" your answer, posed with a question mark at the end (implying that, because E. Coli is in China, most viruses and bacteria are therefore international)?

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

What?

You said "most viruses and bacteria are international." I asked for a source where I could verify that information. As of now, the consensus seems to be that "it's just common knowledge," and I'm just supposed to know it - so common, in fact, that I can't find a single article that confirms it. So I'm asking you for one.

Or was "E. Coli is in China" your answer, posed with a question mark at the end (implying that, because E. Coli is in China, most viruses and bacteria are therefore international)?

You won't find an article confirming that most species of virus and bacteria are international because it is common knowledge. I really think you're either over thinking this or you don't understand what I'm saying. When you step off a plane in China, your first breath probably contains a thousand different species of bacteria. Understand? And I'm not saying China is not clean, because the same is true anywhere. Every one of those species of bacteria would become some sort of disease if your immune system didn't kill it. The fact that people don't drop dead when they leave the country proves that pathogens are international.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

You won't find an article confirming that most species of virus and bacteria are international because it is common knowledge.

...Read that statement again.

Does that make sense to you?

Seriously. Read it again.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

I really think you're either over thinking this or you don't understand what I'm saying. When you step off a plane in China, your first breath probably contains a thousand different species of bacteria. Understand?

A thousand.

Out of how many?

You said "most." You are implying that there are a greater number of bacteria and viruses than are international than there are that are not international.

If there are a thousand that are international, per your example, what if there are 4 thousand that are not? In such a case, "most" bacteria would not be international. I'm asking you where you got your figures from.

Understand?

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

If there are a thousand that are international, per your example, what if there are 4 thousand that are not? In such a case, "most" bacteria would not be international. I'm asking you where you got your figures from.

Understand?

My point is, if even a few of those bacteria being breathed in were completely foreign, you would die.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

My point is, if even a few of those bacteria being breathed in were completely foreign, you would die.

Take this statement, what he says is true. Remember when Europeans came to North America? They brought smallpox among other things and killed a lot of Native Americans, the Europeans had immunities to them. Now if some form of a virus/bacteria wasn't on all continents, we'd get deathly sick when we traveled out of our country, or city, or state, or providence, or whatever you want to choose.