Typhus, Body Lice, and DDT (4 of 4)
 
by Dr. David L. Evans,
Department of Natural Sciences
Pennsylvania College of Technology
 
 
     What good is any of this to you? As can be predicted from the above, many
 
 
germ species have become resistant in their turn, to antibiotics. There are some
 
 
species of germs and germ-carrying insects that no antibiotic or insecticide known
 
 
to science will kill. It appears that our only real long-term protection for humans
 
 
in this increasingly hostile world is the old-fashioned remedies that take diligence
 
 
and hard work: thoughtfulness, cleanliness, and sanitation. Look around you for
 
 
simple things you can do to prevent massive epidemics in the future: eat fresh
 
 
food made in clean surroundings, wash and comb your hair every day, look for
 
 
circumstances around  the home that can encourage pestilence such as standing
 
 
water (encourages disease-carrying mosquitoes) and trash (home for rats and mice).
 
 
     Survival of our species through the coming plagues favors those who are
 
 
prepared to work.