Coronavirus & Class XVI

By Neil Melançon and Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

We know you’re seeing a lot about coronavirus in the news and we’re seeing that, too. We also know that you’re probably worried about us since we’re not far, relatively speaking, from the Wuhan Province in China, the area hardest hit by this new strain of coronavirus. 

First of all, we’re fine. A couple of folks on the trip did get face masks to wear at the airport, but aside from a few coughs and sneezes from allergies and pollution, we’re all doing pretty darn good. Officials report five cases of coronavirus in Thailand, so far. That’s five cases in a country of nearly 70 million people. We just bring that up to give you some perspective.

As to the coronavirus, there’s some things you need to know. One, is that the fatalities have been exactly like most flu cases—affecting the old and very young most especially.  There have been cases of this Wuhan strain from which people have recovered.

Two, is that the situation is being treated very seriously and biohazard security has been drastically ramped up in counties that have been affected or potentially affected. This includes the fact that the virus genome has already been sequenced, and they are actively working on inoculations from it.

Three, there is a lot of hype about it. Some of this is from past media events, both real and in fiction, where unstoppable killer viruses send civilization headlong into catastrophe.

This is not the case with the coronavirus. The reason it’s getting so much attention, especially from governments, is that an outbreak would be very costly for them, much like the flu is every year. A new virus in particular tends to be very virulent, meaning it spreads more easily and the symptoms tend to be more severe. So, where as the normal flu has a 1-2% mortality rate, this virus could have 3-4%. 

That number isn’t insignificant. The H1N1 Spanish Flu of 1918 had a 2 percent mortality rate and killed 50 million people worldwide. While those are very good odds for us as individuals, they can cripple the resources of a country, as we’re seeing now. 

So, to sum up, we’re not sick. We’re not in substantially more danger than you. Yes, we’re all aware of it and yes, we’re taking it seriously. As of this writing, there have been three documented cases in the U.S., so please take care of yourselves as well!