Disease is a crisis that has been apart of human history since the beginning of the world. It has been on every continent (human disease has not been an issue on Antarctica). There have been epidemics that have ravaged entire nations and generations. We can look back on history and see instances of disease like the bubonic plague, Black Death, small pox, dysentery, and so many others. We associate the names of these diseases with massive amounts of human death and suffering. The power to destroy that outbreaks of disease have cannot be underestimated. Today we still live in fear of diseases like HIV/AIDS, MRSA, Hepatitis, and others. Unfortunately for those who live in third world or conflict prone countries, illnesses like cholera, dysentery, measles, and influenza are rampant and cause innumerable casualties despite the modern and readily available treatments.
Encyclopedia Britannica defines human disease as “an impairment of the normal state of a human being that interrupts or modifies its vital functions”. Disease occurs when a foreign microbe such as bacteria or a virus enters the human body. The immune system begins to react to the foreign microbe and tries to destroy it. The problem is, the cells of bacteria and the components of a virus reproduce exponentially faster than human cells reproduce. This means that it is very difficult for our bodies to fight off disease. In many cases, if the disease is not treated the infected person will die. Most illnesses are caused by exposure to the microbe due to a lack of hygiene. Exposure to fecal material will introduce many different types of microorganism’s that are foreign to a human body. Also contact to body fluids that came from an infected human being can be another mode of transmission for a disease. In some cases no matter how much hygiene there is, transmission of foreign microbes will still occur. Contraction of a disease can happen so easily; the infected person or the susceptible people are unaware of the transmission.
Disease is more likely to occur in environments with little to no hygiene, and because diseases can be transmitted so easily outbreaks of disease in poorer and overpopulated countries occur more often. For example outbreaks of cholera, which could be easily prevented through proper sanitation, occur often. Every year 100, 000 to 120,000 people die from cholera. Disease and lifestyle choice have a huge and severe impact on people everyday. This also speaks of the conditions that the people who die from cholera every year. Almost eighty percent of all cases of cholera can be successfully treated with proper rehydration treatments. Many people in the world do not have access to clean water or dirty water. People infected with cholera who have no access to water and people who have access to dirty water have the same prognosis for surviving cholera, almost all of these cases will die (World Health Organization).
Disease is an important issue to consider if only for the massive and tragic effects it has on our world. Disease can control, population growth, economies, governments and even history.
Sources:
"Cholera." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. <http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/about/en/index.html>.
Encyclopedia Britannica defines human disease as “an impairment of the normal state of a human being that interrupts or modifies its vital functions”. Disease occurs when a foreign microbe such as bacteria or a virus enters the human body. The immune system begins to react to the foreign microbe and tries to destroy it. The problem is, the cells of bacteria and the components of a virus reproduce exponentially faster than human cells reproduce. This means that it is very difficult for our bodies to fight off disease. In many cases, if the disease is not treated the infected person will die. Most illnesses are caused by exposure to the microbe due to a lack of hygiene. Exposure to fecal material will introduce many different types of microorganism’s that are foreign to a human body. Also contact to body fluids that came from an infected human being can be another mode of transmission for a disease. In some cases no matter how much hygiene there is, transmission of foreign microbes will still occur. Contraction of a disease can happen so easily; the infected person or the susceptible people are unaware of the transmission.
Disease is more likely to occur in environments with little to no hygiene, and because diseases can be transmitted so easily outbreaks of disease in poorer and overpopulated countries occur more often. For example outbreaks of cholera, which could be easily prevented through proper sanitation, occur often. Every year 100, 000 to 120,000 people die from cholera. Disease and lifestyle choice have a huge and severe impact on people everyday. This also speaks of the conditions that the people who die from cholera every year. Almost eighty percent of all cases of cholera can be successfully treated with proper rehydration treatments. Many people in the world do not have access to clean water or dirty water. People infected with cholera who have no access to water and people who have access to dirty water have the same prognosis for surviving cholera, almost all of these cases will die (World Health Organization).
Disease is an important issue to consider if only for the massive and tragic effects it has on our world. Disease can control, population growth, economies, governments and even history.
Sources:
"Cholera." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 June 2013. <http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/about/en/index.html>.