From 1346 to 1353 the world suffered and died from bubonic plague, a/k/a the Black Death, which was transmitted by fleas. Just this week, a man was diagnosed with bubonic plague in NM; however, today bubonic plague is treatable with antibiotics. In 1918 the world suffered from a pandemic of H1N1 influenza, and in 2009, another outbreak of H1N1 erupted, and was named an H1N1 variant. In 2019, H1N1 cases erupted in the ICE detention centers.

Once a pathogen crosses from animals to humans it is very difficult to fully eradicate. Immortal pathogens can persist and evolve in humans and animals. Preventing emergence of animal pathogens, isolation of infected persons, development of treatment for acute illness, and development of vaccines, are necessary in the fight against covid-19, because covid19 will likely persist at some level, somewhere, indefinitely.

We must not overlook the need to develop early and effective treatments to control covid-19. Sending covid-19 positive patients home, without referral or treatment, to wait and see if the patient shows up at a hospital emergency room near death, does not seem to be an effective strategy!