Diffusion of FEAR...

We have come a long way. Most say the path has taken around 150,000 years, traveling from the continent of Africa through Asia and thence to the Americas. In that time, we have grown from Hunter-gatherers conjuring up spirits from shadows to marshaling machines, millions of pounds of weight heavier than us. In that vast space of time, we have innovated our way away from the envisioned potential Malthusian debacle that never was to being social and dining with people far and wide. We have conquered diseases that used to spell imminent death. We have unearthed rare minerals and used them to make lighter, stronger and more durable products, and flown machines into space and different planets and their moons. We have mapped a part of the universe and found our place in a tiny habitat called earth among billions and billions of galaxies, stars, planets, and moons. We have auscultated the murmurings of the earth and the restless tectonic plates. We have ventured to the bottom of the ocean and discovered newer species and thermal vents.

Yet, it is with a certain degree of humility and a tincture of honesty that we come to terms with the truth that emotionally we have gained very little wisdom compared to the ancient Sumerians. Our emotions seem to soar and sour with the rise and fall of our weighted biased assumptions. Our thoughts find balance, however precariously, between the past and the present only to realize, especially when we are true to our inner voice, that not much has changed since we were troglodytes.



We continue to have the same emotional outbursts of fight and flight. Our appetite remains at full tilt for sudden and unintelligible furies that arise sometimes with little or no provocation. Ignorance and fear are mostly at the heart of this fury.

At times we hide behind our fears, at other times we gear up for a perverse response. The prejudice that exists within all of us drives the desire and our wants. For some, the innate impulse is to cower behind others so they can lay blame on anyone who bares their blind spots and other related deficiencies. Today our weakness is compelled and propelled by the speed of useless information bombarded upon us on a 24/7 basis. We feel proud of our distractions and fidgety when contradicted. Our understanding of reality fades with time from the constant drumbeat of useless information, and that shades and at times wipe out the permanence of our comprehension. In reality not much seems to stick in our memories, being mostly clouded by the contrails of distractions and hence cannot find a foothold for its own place of permanence.

It is unfortunate we let the experience and knowledge accrued through time not to crystalize among the young. Instead, we layer upon the youth our built-in biases and burdens. As Alain de Bottom said, “The knack of our species lies in the capacity to transmit our accumulated knowledge down the generations. The slowest among us can, in a few hours, pick up ideas that it took a few rare geniuses a lifetime to acquire.” We simply need to educate the young with the historical data and not the useless and unusable drivel being drummed into their heads.

Today we find ourselves trapped behind closed doors cowered with fear. A tiny virus has us imprisoned. It threatens our very existence or at least we deem it to do that. But in a moment of reason, we find that it is like all other past dangers to mankind have been. This too can be overcome.

The question that arises then is, what is fear and what is real? Many including myself have talked and written about the tenacity of this Coronavirus to gain a foothold onto any human for its own survival. Humans are the vessels for the propagation of this menace. Some of us fear more than others. Some see every blemish on a surface as the enemy, while others retire to a more reality-based concept of self-responsibility. Both are soiled, unfortunately by the prejudices of their past experiences. Similarly, under the banner of responsibility, some feel indestructible and have a devil-may-care attitude; having gatherings in their homes that is a sure-fire mechanism to spread this invisible microbe and also think that washing hands and social distancing is for everyone else. That they will be protected by the “herd immunity.” Unfortunately, this mindset drives the percentage of the overall caseload and deaths from this illness.

The other misinformation that has ramped up by the unsuspecting media pundits is that young ones don’t get it or if they do, their illness is brief and fully recoverable. That myth is being slowly debunked. It appears that the young ones who develop the infection can have residual damage to the lungs and in some cases yield life to this microbe, and if they survive, the virus can pose a problem over a long period of future time. And depending on the size of the viral inoculum some young ones have developed heart damage including, inflammation (myocarditis) or have died from rhythm disturbances. The young ones who recover quickly from a faint collection of symptoms, however, shed a significant amount of virus which can be mislaid onto the path of the ones who are elderly and sick. Usually, however, the victim in this Coronavirus infection is the latter with one or more co-morbid diseases; diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, who pays the greatest price.

What then is the difference between the unreasonable and the reasonable ones? Indeed, a question worth pondering over

The reasonable ones follow the rules and keep the societal norms functioning. They work and play under the auspices of the established rules. In the current crisis, they wash hands, they clean surfaces, they distance themselves from others as proscribed by the Centers for Disease Control. Nothing is mandated, only suggested for the benefit of each individual. On the other hand, the unreasonable, feel an infringement on their freedoms. And given these feelings, they act out against the suggestions. These are not the gifted and driven unreasonable ones that advance society through innovation, to generate a better future. These are the ones that do harm, the “antiauthority” individuals who believe that they are above it all and are not concerned with the safety of others.

Perhaps this is the time to take things seriously and follow the simple directions of good hygiene, hand washing and not touch the eyes, nose or mouths. Those simple acts eliminate more than 90% of all transmissions. The other less than 10% is from the unrestricted sneezes and coughs which propel viral droplets at speeds of 60mph from the mouth to a distance of 6-25 feet. So cover up the coughs and sneezes.

Use reality-based information to determine your actions and not cower behind falsehood to propel and diffuse unnecessary fear.

Life is short, follow your passion and live responsibly…

From VILLAINS to HEROES in a single Q-T interval

The Doctors and Nurses against COVID19

There is a deceptively simple act of realism that arrives unnoticed at our doors. It knocks softly and enters uninvited. The act is reality itself. Like the blossoms of the spring suddenly erupt on the scene and color the landscape, so does reality. Upfront, in your face and there!

It happened recently and it took a tiny little inhabitant of the microbe world to bring it to everyone’s notice. This little critter escaped into the wide world of human inhabitants and immediately took hold of their attention. All else was thrown to the wind. From waking to sleeping, all acts and thoughts were eclipsed by this newcomer. Chaos and confusion spread like the plague as people started to close doors and turn inwards. Lights out at sunset harkened a dark city when before a flood of lights stood like beacons against a darkening sky. Ah yes, life had changed, and suddenly. The black swan had arrived.

Through it all the once heralded villains, for creating monstrously expensive healthcare, for causing estimated 30,000 to 300,000 thousand of avoidable deaths a year, for exhibiting greed and at times fraud, for doing unnecessary surgeries, for writing too many prescriptions, for not following the guidelines, for not being knowledgeable and needing a biannual examination to maintain their intellect, for not spending time with their patients, for forcing patients to have long wait-times in their clinics, for not following the spurious mandates, for having an opinion, was suddenly at the forefront in this calamity. 

Rushing to the scene where other angels feared to tread, they started to care for the sick, the infirmed, the vulnerable. Irrespective of what the expense was, they ran through the 24-hour-clock countless times, stopping to catch a breath supported only by the cold hard firmness of the hospital walls. They worked through exhaustion, through the stress and the longing for sleep, concerned only for their patients. From one crying for help to another dying of breath. From an elderly closing their eyes for the last time to the younger ones gasping for air with fear and concern dripping from their and their family’s eyes. These once villains continued their work as they had all their lives, saving lives whenever and wherever they could. Each victory soon lost in the shuffle and each loss firmly burdened on their souls forever. A black mark added to the catalog that would mar their dreams in the middle of the night for a long, long time. 

The cries for help never cease. They arouse the conscience day and night as they have always done. The stress of a physician’s life is a long continuum of desperation at times and has led many into a state of severe depression in the past, only to be discarded by some lofty ivory tower individuals to recommend yoga, or spending more time with patients, or eat better or find a hobby as the therapy of choice for this stress. For they, who do not venture into the jaws of death, know not what it means to face it.

But this time, it is different. As it always is. The conscience of the world has been pricked a bit. Even the ivory tower is fearful to tread on its well-worn path of oblique advice. They themselves are hunkered down with bolted doors to let the “Plague” pass them by. A few stragglers in some rag newspaper still continue the demonizing and vilifying of the doctors, but mostly they see with gaping mouths and rounded eyes, the debacle that stretches in from of them for miles and miles and body-bags that mount daily. They see these doctors and nurses laying down their lives to save others. And reluctantly and somewhat begrudgingly and with hesitation, they have to admit that the frontline doctors and nurses against this disease are like the soldiers on the Normandy Beach; heroes.

Physicians' and nurses’ exposure to the virus is commonplace and inevitable, in spite of all the precautions. Knowingly, just like the soldiers that ran into the canons hidden in the fortified bunkers of Normandy Beach and saved the world from tyranny, these medical men and women strive for the same goal, to stave off death and allow healing. To liberate health and wellness from the scourge of this pandemic. They yearn like all of us for the same end; a quiet peace to reign after the virus is neutralized. They know only one thing, no matter the color of the skin, the position in society, the wealth, the religion, the creed or the gender, all are vulnerable, and all need the same protection.

When this is all over, and it will be sooner or later, remember the sacrifice of these souls, before you raise your pen and tarnish the paper with the ink, to destroy the only Noble profession that ever existed on the face of this earth.

Alas, we will forget, for our memories are short, until the next one…

Understanding WUHAN Coronavirus (COVID19) Growth Rate

The growth of a pandemic seems to follow a certain pattern. The growth rate is rapid and graphically is very alarming. But there is a certain mathematical pattern to all such growths. You might have heard the term “Exponential Growth Rate.” What does that mean? Essentially it is the number of the initial infection multiplied to its exponent. Or simply if the growth rate is from 200 on day 1 and that changes to 350 the next day then, the change number is 150 over the previous day. If that number grows to 480 the next day and 660 the next, then 200350480->660 indicates a rise of 150 on day 2 and 130 on day 3 hence the exponent (150/130) is 1.15. Using the 1.15 exponent rate of growth, further projections can be made which on Day 5 would be (660 *1.15) 759. And if the exponent reduces to 1.08 then the infection on day 5 will be 712. If the future number is higher or lower the exponent can be recalculated. The rise and fall of the exponent determine the rise and fall of the spread of the pandemic and whether the peak has been reached and the curve flattened.

Example of how to calculate the exponent and whether it is increasing or decreasing:

Assumed data for the graph below:

         Numbers  Rate increase Exponent
Day 1 200
Day 2 350          150
Day 3 480          130               1.15
Day 4 660          120               1.08

Graph 1

Now let us look at how we can determine and do a look back after noting the first tested individual who is shown to be positive and who has died. There are a few assumptions that will have to be taken to make such a determination. Simple mathematics makes it quite easy to understand.

Assumption #1: The Death Rate is 0.6%

Assumption #2: The Doubling Rate is 5 days

Assumption #3: The Time from Infection to Death is 20 days.

(These assumptions are based on the facts available from data on COVID19 from China and other countries where Social Distancing and other Hygiene measures are in full force).

Using assumption #1 in association with #3 suggests that for every 6 deaths there were 1000 cases 20 days ago. Next, since the doubling rate is 5 days (assumption #2), that would indicate that there will be 2000 cases 15 days ago, 4000 cases 10 days ago and 8000 cases 5 days ago and today the number would be 16,000 cases. These cases are actual infected cases and these will add to the death burden as time goes on, calculated below. Essentially one can do the look back of the potential infected based on current data and then based on the exponent, probabilistically show what to expect in the future if nothing else changes.

Graph 2

Data assumed Past Infections and Future Deaths based on an exponent of 1.53 would be:
Days    Future Deaths    Present Infections    

1            6                              1000
2            9                              2000
3            14                            4000
4            21                            8000
5            33                            16000

Graph 3

The current data from China, South Korea, and Japan shows that the actual infection rate in those countries is diminishing, and the diminished exponent reduces the peak infection rate and hence the flattening of the curve as explained above. We can IF WE follow the basic principles outlined below flatten the curve fairly quickly in the United States as well.

As I write this the total number of actual cases in the entire globe is 214,480 and total deaths equal 8,803 with 84,521 fully recovered. The Mortality rate in this larger picture is 4.1% and that includes the excessive death rates in countries where measures are less than expected. The full recovery rate is 39% as of this moment in time.  Additionally, as has been discussed, since new deaths are being reported, these reports suggest the implications of the tested sickest/infirmed patients first and the data will be skewed temporarily towards a higher Mortality Rate in the beginning but then the numbers will diminish to the expected mortality rate. Once the testing gets underway for a larger subset of individuals with symptoms, the rate normalizes eventually to the expected norm. In this case at or around 0.6%-08%.

Stay Safe and follow these simple Hygiene Principles:
1. Wash hands with Soap and Water
2. Do Not shake hands with others
3. Do Not touch your face with unclean hands
4. Clean the surfaces that can transmit infections (fomites).
5. Go out for walks but do not congregate.

VIRUSES, VIRUSES everywhere, so Flatten the Curve!

SARS-CoV-2 or COVID19 or Wuhan Virus

In the fog of daily chaos and confusion, a tiny little package of carefully folded nucleic acids within a lipid layer escaped into the human world. “Where” it originated remains a mystery. But “There” it has caused havoc. Perhaps it was from the delicacy diet of bats or from the blood of snakes as reported, or neither. Some claim it might have originated from within some deeply fortified building from well beyond the Great Wall. 

But what of this tiny package?

It replicates very quickly almost to the tune of every 5 days. The next question that should arise in our minds is, what is the fidelity of the replication? Does it stay true to its basic nature and continue with its original base pair fidelity? (Base-pair) meaning the A-T and the G-C complex as in the DNA But the COVIS19 coronavirus is an RNA virus. RNA viruses are mostly single chains, unlike the DNA which is a spiral helix of two separate chains tied together with a sugar-phosphate. Other major difference being that Thymine is substituted by Uracil in the RNA. The argument previously mentioned is met with a certain “No.” No, it does not maintain 100% fidelity in its replication process over time. Ok so much for basic biology. 

The Nature of this Tiny Beast.

Perhaps we should visit the nature and being of this little guy. It is a NOVEL menace. When a full-genome sequencing and phylogenic analysis was done the coronavirus or COVID-19 turns out to be a betacoronavirus in the same subgenus as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus (as well as several bat coronaviruses – more on that later), but in a different clade (evolved from a common ancestor). The structure of the receptor-binding gene region is very similar to that of the SARS coronavirus, and the virus has been shown to use the same receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), for human cell entry. On reviewing the phylogenetic tree of several (103) strains of this novelty virus two different versions were identified: Type L accounting for 70% of the strains and Type S (30%) that are well defined by two different SNPs (called ”snips” or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) that show nearly complete linkage across the viral strains sequenced to date. Type L predominated the early Wuhan epidemic experience. Moreover, the frequency of the L type decreased after early January 2020. Human intervention may have placed more severe selective pressure on the L type, which might be more aggressive and spread more quickly. On the other hand, the S type, which is evolutionarily older and less aggressive, might have increased in relative frequency due to relatively weaker selective pressure.

When further insight was gained into this little critter it was noted that there was a clear molecular divergence between SARS-CoV-2 and other related coronaviruses. Although there was only 4% variability in genomic nucleotides between SARS-CoV-2 and a bat SARS-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV; RaTG13), the difference at neutral sites was 17%, suggesting the divergence between the two viruses is much larger than previously estimated.

Delving deeper into this tiny life’s thief one finds another incredible piece of information: Phylogenetic analysis of the complete viral genome (29,903 (nt) nucleotides) revealed that the virus was most closely related (89.1% nucleotide similarity) to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses (genus Betacoronavirus, subgenus Sarbecovirus) that had previously been found in bats in China. The order of genes (5′ to 3′) was as follows: Replicase ORF1ab, spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M) and nucleocapsid(N). WHCV has 5′ and 3′ terminal sequences that are typical of betacoronaviruses, with 265 nt at the 5′ terminal end and 229 nt at the 3′ terminal end. (nt = nucleotide).

The question then arises if viruses enter via a keyhole, then they must have a key, right? Actually, this little bugger has one, it has a spike protein. The spike protein is the major surface protein that it uses to bind to a receptor — another protein that acts like a doorway into a human cell. After the spike protein binds to the human cell receptor, the viral membrane fuses with the human cell membrane, allowing the genome of the virus to enter human cells and begin infection.

What is even more interesting and as Lewis Carrol termed, “curiouser and curiouser,” is the finding that the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of its spike protein was compared with those of SARS-CoVs and bat SARS-like CoVs. The RBD sequences of WHCV were more closely related to those of SARS-CoVs (73.8–74.9% amino acid identity) and SARS-like CoVs, including strains Rs4874, Rs7327, and Rs4231 (75.9–76.9% amino acid identity), that are able to use the human ACE2 receptor for cell entry. In addition, the RBD of the spike protein from WHCV was only one amino acid longer than the RBD of the spike protein from SARS-CoV. So perhaps we can call it “one degree of separation?”

Zoonotic?

One question that perplexed and instantly glommed on by the scientific community was that the five strains of the “common cold” coronavirus shared the spike protein to enter the human cell. The Wuhan Coronavirus only shared 90% of the homology. The four cold coronaviruses — named 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 — all utilize humans as their primary hosts. However, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) shares about 90% of its genetic material with coronaviruses that infect bats. And that is where they drew the conclusion that this Wuhan virus was a zoonotic disease jumping from bats that serve as universal reservoirs and as vectors to humans via their interactions. Further data showed that the Wuhan virus is most closely related to bat coronaviruses and shows 100% amino acid similarity to the bat. 

From where then?

In the initial epidemic in China, A third of the cases had direct exposure to the Huanan Seafood market. Fish, shellfish, wildlife, snakes, birds and several different types of meat and carcasses were sold at this market. The initial theory of animal to human transmission started to take a back seat in December 2019 when it was determined that the new virus differed significantly, raising questions about its origin. And subsequent investigations indicate that the first patient – who started experiencing symptoms as early as December 1, 2019, had no reported link to the market, or the other patients. Two reports from China emerged that found similarity between the flying bats and the Wuhan Coronavirus infecting the humans. The first study found a 96% similarity of the genetic makeup while the other found 89% homology between the two. Yet the problem remains; these similarities are still not enough to identify the direct spillover virus causing the current outbreak in humans. Earlier in bioRxiv preprint on SARS-CoV-2 found HIV-like genetic sequences, but online commenters pointed out that “the findings were at most a coincidence” and that research has since been retracted. However, a strange fact exists; in contrast to other retractions that usually happen when false data, omissions or acts of fraudulent commissions are committed in creating the research, this preprint, however, was withdrawn by the authors within 48 hours and before any questions were raised. Another interesting factoid that needs to be considered in the context of asymmetrical information available to date, is the proximity of the Level-4 Biosafety laboratory in Wuhan and the multiple breaches reported in the past several years augurs the mind into a conspiratorial web of deceit and deflection, but then thus far that is what it is. It is left to our imagination to conjure up stuff until facts are made opaque. However, proof from Zhou et.al suggests that there is no evidence that recombination has facilitated the emergence of Wuhan Coronavirus. This needs further elucidation.

“Patient Zero”

So, where do we rest the origins of this little beast? “Patient Zero” has never been identified. In epidemiology “patient zero” has a significance because one can then build the blossoming tree of the spread from that single source. But none has yet been found. It is like a large blossoming tree with no roots. There are conflicting reports of the virus entering the human species in November 17, 2019, as reported by the South China Morning Post. This was a 55-year-old woman in the Hubei Province and perhaps she might also have been then first potential patient identified with symptoms in December 8, 2019. But neither of these reports suggest that she is “patient zero.” The root of the blossoming tree is more like moss on a tree trunk.

Mechanisms of spread:

Mechanisms of spread are fairly simple and easy to comprehend:

Using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), investigators detected COVID-19 RNA in lung wash (14 of 15 samples; 93%), sputum (72 of 104; 72%), nasal swabs (5 of 8; 63%), lung biopsy (6 of 13; 46%), throat swabs (126 of 398; 32%), feces (44 of 153; 29%), and blood (3 of 307; 1%). The 72 urine specimens all tested negative.

Further, the indirect transmission seemed to arise from fomites:

“Hence, the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 [the COVID-19 virus] in our study could have resulted from spread via fomites (e.g., elevator buttons or restroom taps) or virus aerosolization in a confined public space (e.g., restrooms or elevators),”

Symptoms:

So how exactly does this Wuhan Coronavirus manifest it’s presence in the human body? By now there are several pamphlets that compare and contrast this virulence to that of the common cold and the flu, but the symptomatic hallmarks of its invasion are as follows:

Fever in 99%

Fatigue in 70%

Dry cough in 59%

Anorexia in 40%

Myalgias in 35%

Dyspnea in 31%

Sputum production in 27%

The informed data from China and elsewhere suggest that:

Mild (no or mild pneumonia) was reported in 81 percent.

Severe disease (eg, with dyspnea, hypoxia, or >50 percent lung involvement on imaging within 24 to 48 hours) was reported in 14 percent.

Critical disease (eg, respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction) was reported in 5 percent. Requiring ventilatory support has an almost 91% fatal results.

The Case Fatality Rate was 2.3%; no deaths were reported among noncritical cases. However, depending on the aggressive mitigation strategies utilized by various governments and localities have been able to show a lower CFR at 0.9%.

WHAT to do?

There are 3 (Three) very simple and practical preventative measures:

Wash Hands with Soap & Water or >65% alcohol after touching surfaces and before preparing, serving and eating foods.

Avoid crowds and Avoid touching any part of the face, especially the nose, eyes, ears & mouth. Maintain good Respiratory Hygiene, eg. Sneeze or cough into elbow or Kleenex.

Disinfect all surfaces before and after human contact.

Remembering that this Wuhan Coronavirus like other viruses is and like other RNA viruses, “accumulate mutations at a rate one million times faster than human DNA [does]. It gives them the ability to survive through mutation against an immune response,” Estimating how easily a virus spreads, virologists calculate its "basic reproduction number," or R0 (pronounced R-nought). R0 predicts the number of people who can catch a given virus/bacterium/parasite from a single infected person. R0 for SARS-CoV-2 is estimated at about 2.2, meaning a single infected person will infect about 2.2 others, on average. By comparison, the flu has an R0 of 1.3. The other issue to be aware of in viral business, is that it may go into a state of quiescence for a period of 4-5 months in the summer and return in the late fall and winter as the cold and social proximity increases. 

Treatment:

No known treatment exists at this time. Certain medications have been tried in other SARs Coronavirus (unrelated to Wuhan Coronavirus) with some success. Chloroquine has been used in South Korea and even in China with limited success. The data dates back to 2008 when in-vitro experiments showed inhibition of the virus in the laboratory. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15351731

And also in vivo: https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-422X-2-69/figures/2 . Even using ACE Inhibitors to thwart the gateway access via ACE-2 have met with failure. (ACE inhibitors are used extensively in treating Hypertension and Heart Disease).

Prevention

Prevention through social interactions and via an active vaccine seems to be the foremost mechanism to mitigate this tiny but dangerous foe. Targeting the protein spike of the virus seems to be the current thrust. Blunting the spike should blunt the entrance into the human cells and thus prevent spread. At least for the near future, until the virus mutates to change the spike. Remember it needs a host (animals, mammals or humans) to survive. And given that there are more than 120 million species of viruses and trillion and trillions of the total numbers. They survive via their ability to replicate and mutate inside the host. Eventually, parts of the virus will find a place in our genome as an Intron and live in harmony, creating isolated events of genetic misdemeanors as genes jump close in proximity to its location.

If you were intrigued to read till the end, then I beseech you to opine and as Walt Whitman asked, “What will your verse be…?” please write your verse to this human endeavor. 

Thank you!

REFERENCES:

https://www.livescience.com/how-far-will-coronavirus-spread.html

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/abstract/26

http://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/03/study-covid-19-may-spread-several-different-ways

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-patients-zero-contracted-case-november-2020-3

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-spike-protein-structure.html

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2820%2930183-5

Wu, F., Zhao, S., Yu, B. et al. A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature 579, 265–269 (2020).
Zhou, P., Yang, X., Wang, X. et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature 579, 270–273 (2020)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-epidemic-draws-scrutiny-to-labs-handling-deadly-pathogens-11583349777

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/theory-that-coronavirus-escaped-from-a-lab-lacks-evidence-67229

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.30.927871v1.full

https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/03/retraction-faulty-coronavirus-paper-good-moment-for-science/

CATERPILLARS, caterpillars everywhere...

In the scheme of things, society moves to the whims of the powerful and the ordinary. This ebb and flow dictate the governance of habits and mores. The powerful exert their influence on the behavior of the ordinary and in so doing force a form of subjugation from them. It is a slow process of innovative manipulation, feigned originality that trends slowly towards a disposition of total control. The academics isolated and happy in their well-appointed ivory towers spew worthless drivel, to align with their masters, that seeps into and slowly soaks the minds of the easily distracted crowd. There is no better way than to remove the virtue of individualism and replace it with the vice of collectivism in order to destroy the desire and worth of a human being. As Theodore Dalrymple states, “There is no better way to destroy the human personality than this. As a result, people become cynical, time-serving, and increasingly self-absorbed. Their impotence breeds apathy. Once they start to utter things for the sake of their careers or their peace and quiet that they do not believe, they lose all self-respect and probity and thus their standing to resist anything. People without probity are easy to control and manipulate; the purpose of political correctness is not to enunciate truth but to exercise power.” Within this diaspora of power and subjugation is a well-armed legion of caterpillars. This army consumes large amounts of gold leaves and protects its clients; the powerful and the virtues of their utopian ideals and feigned piety. The caterpillars lack the intellect they cannot achieve, in order to hoard some of the capital that they long to possess. Yet through subterfuge, they persist and persist until they can claim some of it. We, common folk, on the other hand, are forced to speak in their language of meaningless babble lest we lose our place in their vacuous world where words have little meaning and are devoid of thought and reason. It is a slow convincing slog, carefully manicured by those with little education and knowledge, but rich in quick-wit, quick thinking, and convincing inventiveness by the use of garbled Latin phrases, jumbled vocabulary, and quotations from Shakespeare and Socrates to spread the words of their crafty masters.



Their sanctimonious words are meant to reform society through redistribution of an individual’s property. Individual Property as envisioned by John Locke and quickly adhered to by the asset forfeiture crowd. These caterpillars grow fat and wealthy usurping the ideals of the individuals and implanting the “virtues” of the fatuous ideology of totalitarianism. The good and virtuous people have always been the desiderate of life in the land of liberty. This slow encroachment through careful indoctrination from childhood reforms the psyche of the populace. The caterpillars make manipulated robots out of humans and exact a price on the freedom of ePluribus. They continue to add their straw to the campfire of ideological uniformity. The higher the flames the better the command and control. The compass of probity is easily lost and blanketed over in the canyons of mistruths and half-truths. What is unreal is suddenly deemed real. And nonconformity is met with a stiff penalty of lost liberty, of livelihood and even life.



Arguing with these caterpillars is to be wrested out of one’s comfort. They win with a language filled with hatred and accusations of racial oppression, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or some other commonly recognized and broadcasted forms of oppression. Their power grows and overtime if allowed, becomes absolute. As their power increases so does their form of language transmuting into psychobabble interspersed with complex and overfitted multi-collinearity of discordant words to confuse and obfuscate the underpinnings of their intent: to govern with absolute power, while simultaneously using soothing words to calm any fears. They talk of innovation of a utopian empire, of order and feigned prosperity, of chocolate factories distributing free candy. They build tall crass architectural buildings while destroying historical artifices. "Take a hammer to history so “now” is the only permanence, without a past to reckon," is their motto. But through it all, they never speak about Freedom or Liberty.

Perhaps there is also a no better time in this discourse then now to mention how the joy and desire of medicine as practiced by the physicians in the United States for decades has been degraded enough that more physicians find themselves dejected, depressed and suicide-prone… The caterpillars have imposed a multitude of mandates including the electronic medical records as a means to catalog doctor and patient behavior mostly for resource use and cost of medical care. They couched it in the euphemism of “value care,” …a false premise. Through it all, this mandate made the EMR makers, billionaires and subjugated the physicians into key-punching clerks, wasting 40-50% of their patient care time into providing electronic data for ivory tower consumption. They furthered their cause of demeaning the physicians, by calling them “providers” as if to relegate the intellect and knowledge of these medicine men and women into commoditized beings of little regard. They imposed guidelines and other algorithms of work-flow to prevent thinking, reasoning physician from making the correct decision for a patient rather than a “one size fits all” assembly-lines of “care,” they envision. Such impositions of valueless coercion have undone the joy of understanding the ailment, the comforting touch of a healer and the art and science of caring for another human being. This abjuration has lent itself to years of conflicting thoughts. Such conflicts have raised the specter of increasing suicides amongst these gifted and hard-working physicians. In answer, the ivory tower denizens suggest it is because of this and that and that physicians should try Yoga or spend more time with their patients or try reading novels and other useless drivel to counter the raging fire of depression and worthlessness feelings seeping through the veins of the physician community. But if that was not enough they now counter the question of physician availability due to their lack of foresight of more medical schools and unnecessary regulatory burden by allowing 2000-hour educated/experienced PAs and NPs to take over the management of a 20,000-hour educated/experienced physician. Mediocrity is valued at an all-time high these days.

This imposed hellish drive into healthcare, however, it started a long time ago and culminated with an MIT professor using his psychobabble to create a monstrous burden on the healthcare system in the United States. Lost in his self-congratulatory mood, the litmus of truth turned the color of the strip, when in his hubris, he admitted upon reflection that what he was imposing would not be possible if the American populace was not “stupid.” And another University Professor openly suggested that life after 75 years should not be helped or saved by medical means, because the cost/benefit ratio of doing that is a detriment to society. It does not end with these two authoritarian high brows. There are legions of assistants slinking away in the hallways of the ivory towers, like minions, ready to make their mark on the world and espouse the political correctness of the older, greyer, bent-over decision theorists. This army replenishes itself with its chosen, ideologically uniform legions of mindless, thoughtless sentients, so it may continue to spread its's masters' “virus of virtue” signaling lies and deceit. One is not allowed to argue. Arguing the very foundation of their false statements is mothballed away for no one to hear. If one insists with a valid statement then the response is simply like the one used by Sganarelle in Le Médecin malgré lui by Molière , “Nous avons changé tout cela.” (We have changed all that). Thus, killing the spontaneity, candor, and understanding immediately, exactly how they hope to prevail within the minds of the less glib - via the art of their constant drumbeat. In the end, no ideas are transferred, or thoughts provoked, or comprehension gelled, only rhetoric exchanged for the sake of the rhetoric; like two ships sailing past each other in the night without an exchange. Hence groupthink flourishes, ideas die, the reason is hidden below boulders of conceit and the gyre of control widens.

Today the well-groomed, true intellectual fends for himself or herself through limited means while the mindless, but visually interesting freaks run around in limousines and jets pouring champagne and eating caviar on their way to the self-congratulatory conferences. Today’s medicine has become a laboratory of wicked statistical rules. It isn’t true if the statistics don’t show the reality. Risk calibration is now offered as probability calibration. And questioning that what is projected as the truth as merely a probability expressed, the fangs of rage and anger come out as “How dare you.” And forevermore, especially if you are a young smart whippersnapper, you are banned from the inner sanctums of their elite-ness. Just like a man or woman with a sense of entitlement and bad judgment is diabolical in deeds, these caterpillars swarm in the landscape of decision theorists, leaving their cigar smoke in their wake. Only the ones with a better slogan, better appearance, better presentation, more beguiling glibness while using polysyllabic euphemisms to dress up their craftiness find a place in this slimy repulsive lot. The caterpillar army is pervasive in the local, state and in federal governments of most nations. Inept, vacuous and insecure minds lay waste the fertile crop of the intellect of the land via their hand on the tiller of power and control.

We are indeed in Alice’s Wonderland. And the rabbit hole is filled with hookah-smoking caterpillars asking us at every turn, “Who are you?” One can only see this through the distance of time and a kernel of understanding and reason. The game is afoot and it is gaining momentum. Power is the consolation prize for those who want to outshine but lack the talent for anything except manipulation and betrayal. One cannot idly standby to the feigned despair of victimhood or to the utopian thinking of a pie in the sky, to survive this onslaught of the wretchedness of power and control over the minds of free people. One needs to fight the impulse towards the least hurdled path. Groupthink might land you in a wealthy position for a while but there always be a fatter, smarter, more connected caterpillar to take you down. Smugness might keep you in champagne circles for a while but there always will be a backstabber to reel you in. Eventually, with the force of truth and the will of determination, the real intellectuals with nothing but the clarity of knowledge and armed with facts on their side will earn their wings to rid the psychobabble of these caterpillars and the masters they serve.