A common low-potency pathogen can explain rare childhood leukemia better than localized toxins.

Evidence

Despite Heath’s doubts about clusters, he still felt it was “highly likely” that infectious agents played a role in the cause of childhood leukemia. But any such agent, he thought, would have to be a pathogen of low potency, one that was widespread but affected only a very few susceptible individuals. And he no longer had much faith that epidemiological investigations would yield any answers to childhood leukemia. The available techniques were too crude and the disease too rare to establish any firm connection between cause and effect. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 161

Categorization

• XREF: Resonates with the diffusion/contagion-model material on how weak, ubiquitous agents produce rare outcomes. — connects to: Childhood leukemia clustered in east Woburn at seven times the expected rate — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 198; The causes of childhood leukemia remain scientifically unknown — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 1475; Childhood leukemia patients often arrive after misdiagnosed recurrent infections. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 58 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Small per-child risk increases still yield large population-level disease burdens #expands (0.85) — , The Rod and the Child, 6038
• Infections shrink weapon growth because immunity consumes the same resource pool #complicates (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 343