Why are you Still Alive?

I heard about this article published by the Readers Digest last November.  This should interest all of us as we are hearing about the zika virus affecting the babies born to women infected by the virus.
We should remember that just one hundred fifty years ago life expectancy in humans was no longer than forty years.  People did not always live to see their grandchildren, let alone great grandchildren.  These days people in the developed world live into their eighties and nineties and are still healthy and active.
It is important to understand the progress that brought about this long life expectancy.  On the top of the list is the fact that we learned to cure bacterial and viral diseases.  Smallpox was a viral disease that killed more people than any other illness or factor.

Smallpox-1894

We also managed to abolish disease as bacterial TB and cholera which causes loss of water.
Next on the list is the fact that we learned to use soap to clean up and mainly wash our hands.  We learned to avoid touching bacteria and transferring them to anything we touch.
The houses in which we live protect us from the weather, rain storms, winds and heat.  Modern houses are well  air conditioned unlike the  poor huts in the third world.
At last we should appreciate the clean running water in our modern homes.  This is thanks to the governments who provide this service of providing running water.  And note where the government of Michigan failed its citizens in Flint.  It is not taken for granted that governments can always be trusted.
It is important to remember what is keeping us alive and healthy for so long!