Thread by @Friedemann1

I have a totally unproven hypothesis why the australian society did not discuss much before they imposed fast and robust public health measures against SARS-CoV-2: They already had quite some bad experiences with invasive species

(Thread ends with a kid's TV series!)

1/11

Cane toads: introduced into Australia with the aim to control beetles that were destroying the sugar cane harvest (didn't work)

2/11
nma.gov.au/defining-momen….

Cane toads (dt.: Aga Kröte) soon became a problem themselves. They are prolific eaters (not only sugar cane beetles) and their skin secretes a toxin. Not good for the local ecosystems

3/11

Lots of other animals were also either introduced (wHy?) or just piggybagged their way there somehow: cats, dromedary camels, foxes, goats, bees (bees!), pigs and, for recreational hunting...european rabbits

4/11
theculturetrip.com/pacific/austra…

Apparently people were totally surprised that the rabbits multiplied at an astronomic speed, destroying and undermining the landscape so horses and other animals would break their legs ("Threat level: Extreme")

5/11

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_…

Even a fence going straight from North to South Western Australia could not keep them out
6/11
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-pr…

So some clever people thought they could fight the rabbits with yet another type of invasive species: viruses!

They tried two proven rabbit killers: Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), which is something like Ebola for rabbits
7/11
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_he…

And Myxomatosis virus, a member of the poxvirus family. This virus is transmitted by insects or by direct contact and causes a horrible disease with swollen eyelids and genitals, purulent ocular discharge, fever, anorexia, and death

8/11
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxomatos…

Apparently the look of a myxomatosis rabbit can be quite traumatic, but nonetheless the makers of the Australian children's comedy TV series "The ferals" created a slightly messed-up looking rabbit character called "Mixy"

9/11

Myxomatosis in rabbits is prime example of host vs pathogen evolution, a real world experiment that is still going on. I have written on that subject earlier

10/11

https://twitter.com/Friedemann1/status/1364522057548111874?s=20

Back to Australia: despite all these huge control efforts, these and other invasive species are there to stay.

So I think it is no wonder the people did everything they could to keep SARS-CoV-2 out of the country. They knew exactly what would happen otherwise

11/11