A few weeks ago I had dinner with my partner in a restaurant. Soon after we arrived, two people sat down at the next table and it quickly became clear to us that they were both ill. One of them sneezed and coughed continuously for an hour, while the other kept sniffling and at one point dropped a used handkerchief on the floor. I felt like I was being attacked.
Reactions related to personal hygiene are extremely varied. It is now taught in school that one should cover one’s nose and mouth when sneezing, preferably on the inside of the elbow, as recommended by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet compliance with these rules among the population is very fluctuating. Research conducted in 2009 in New Zealand found that over a quarter of the population did not cover their nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing during a flu epidemic.
Conversely, there are no major variations in how people react if they are faced with a used diaper abandoned in a public space. As the covid-19 pandemic reminded us, both bacteria found in human waste and particles released through coughing and sneezing are linked to disease transmission. Yet it is only the diaper that disgusts us. In our world, there are clear social rules about sneezing and coughing, but many of us don’t respect them.
History of human behavior
Today, while many countries are loosening or eliminating anticovid norms, it is up to the public to consciously redefine the social norms linked to the transmission of infectious diseases. Coughing and sneezing can cause someone to die, just like exposing others to human excrement. Therefore we should react with the same disapproval.
Throughout history, human behavior has adapted to respond to disease. For example, we learned how to protect ourselves from cholera in 1854, when John Snow discovered that the infection occurred through water. Over time, as social groups became more and more numerous and complex, human beings have adapted by changing their way of life. Rather than letting instinct guide us, we learned from older adults to prevent the spread of contagious and dangerous diseases, in a process known as cultural transmission.
Passing on social conventions has brought us enormous benefits. So it seems strange that in the face of extremely contagious and potentially deadly diseases such as covid-19, many people continue to cough and spit in public despite the risk of facilitating infections. This behavior makes each of us indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people around the world.
One explanation may be that we have lived with respiratory viruses (including those that cause the common cold) for so long that we no longer see them as a serious threat. Any invitation to limit socialization during flu season is ignored by people who believe that contact with other humans is more important than the risk of passing on an infection.
Now that most of the obligations related to isolation and wearing masks are disappearing, we should reflect on our behavior. The risk of seeing the birth of a new variant of covid-19 should push us to assume our responsibilities when we are sick, avoiding contacts both at work and on social occasions.
Allowing covid-19 to circulate freely increases the risk of mutations capable of bypassing vaccines. Sneezing and coughing in public should be stigmatized. In the absence of effective laws, it is up to individuals to protect the health of those around them.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)