This is a fantastic graph. It makes me happy.

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/matthewherper/files/2012/11/1101_gates-diarrhea-chart_290.jpg

What you see is a graph of infant deaths from diarrhoea in Mexico. There are a lot of high, high peaks - which means that a lot of children died every time the rota virus came back - and then it flat-lines.

In 2007 nationwide vaccines against the disease were introduced. Some children still died, but I don't think it is possible to achieve a zero rate. But look at how the graph flattens out.

Many many children live now that would not have lived if the vaccines hadn't been introduced.

Doesn't that make you happy?

The seasonal vector is called 'rota virus'. That's what the vaccines were against.

Yes. The anti-vaccers aim for the peaks-and-valleys time of that graph because nothing in this world comes with a 100 per cent guarantee. Their reasoning that because something does not give that guarantee one should not do it is short-sighted and dangerous. It's wanting the peaks and valleys of that graph instead of the flat-line.

Torgo said:

Back in the middle ages we used to solve that problem by drinking delicious ale (well, 'small beer') with meals instead of water, a practice I am doing my best to keep alive today.

Anyway: brilliant news. This is, I'm guessing from the URL, at least partly thanks to Bill and Melinda Gates' foundation?

Click to expand...

I took the graph from a very polemic article in Forbes. The point of my happy little jig wasn't about the swipe at the stupidity of anti-vaccers (which I don't mind, mind you) but because it was the chart that made me happy. As such the article itself isn't very useful or valuable or interesting or thought-provoking. So, it seemed kind of silly to discuss it.

The chart's the thing.