There have been reports of YouTubers I watch getting sick after eating food in third world countries. However, these countries are also home to a large number of people who do not get sick from eating the same food. I think this suggests that the locals may have developed stronger immune systems. What do you think?
There was an episode of vsauce or veritasium or cgpgrey several years ago that kind of talked about this a little bit. Basically, inside and outside of us, alongside covering all of our things and everything we touch and are around and other people, are all part of an extended network of poop particles and bacteria.
You get sick when new things get past your exterior & interior poop network of bacterial defenses. Same for anyone, anywhere. It’s all just how much, how fast, and how far and how new, the new bacteria and viruses get. If it gets too far, too fast, we might die.
But, people are disgusting and COVERED IN POOP BACTERIA AND VIRUSES and so we’re all fairly familiar with everything, and nothing is too different.
COVID-19, for example, was very different and spread in large amounts very quickly, I believe it’s why it’s called a “novel” virus. It was different enough that it just waltzed past all our defenses and killed millions of people. And then, it mutated enough, and quickly enough, that when it came back to us with the new form, our immune systems were like “damn this one virus came in here and caused a ton of damage, but for some reason we don’t know exactly what it looks like. Are you that virus or it’s relative?” And the mutation was like, “uhhh, no?” And the security guard/immune system was all, “okay, come on through.” And it would get us sick again.
Biology is weird and epidemiology is incredibly difficult when half the population is fucking homeschooled and thinks horse dewormer helps this type of thing or that it’s fake or something.