Technological Advancements and Limitations - Disease

Technological Advancements and Limitations - Disease

Introduction

• Nathan Wolfe's quote highlights the dual reality of our time: the constant threat of new pandemics alongside the advanced tools to combat them and build a global immune system.

Essential Question

• How have environmental factors affected human populations since 1900?

Progress in Science and Medicine

• Significant reduction in illnesses and deaths from diseases due to advancements in science and medicine, and government-run public health measures.

• Pandemics: Epidemic diseases that spread across national borders.

• Smallpox:

  • Plagued ancient Egyptians and devastated native populations of the Americas and Australia.

  • Killed millions annually as recently as the 1960s.

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a global vaccination campaign.

  • 1979: Smallpox declared eliminated globally, except for research cultures at the Centers for Disease Control in the United States.

• Persistence of other diseases:

  • Related to poverty: malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera.

  • Emergence of new epidemics: deadly strains of flu, HIV/AIDS, and Ebola.

  • Increased prevalence of conditions like heart disease and Alzheimer's due to increased longevity.

  • Each medical problem spurred technological and medical advances to combat it.

Disease and Poverty

• Poverty as a contributing factor:

  • Poor housing, working conditions, contaminated water, and lack of healthcare access.

Malaria

• A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas.

• Killed over 600,000 people each year in the early 21st century, mostly young African children.

• Doctors Without Borders treated ~1.7 million people annually.

• Preventive measures: insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

• Malaria vaccine: Under development for many years, but an effective one is still in trials.

• Progress: Algeria and Argentina certified as malaria-free by WHO in 2019.

• Caution: Some mosquitoes becoming resistant to insecticides.

Tuberculosis (TB)

• Airborne infection affecting the lungs, spread through coughs and sneezes.

• Before 1946: No effective drug treatment available.

• Cure: Antibiotics and long rest periods.

• Vaccines administered to children in countries where TB is common.

• Early 21st century: Emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains.

• Increased infections, especially in prisons.

• WHO launched a worldwide campaign against tuberculosis in the 2010s.

Cholera

• Bacterial disease spread through contaminated water.

• Causes about 95,000 deaths per year.

• Affects mainly poor people in developing countries.

• Countermeasures: Boil or chlorinate drinking water, wash hands.

• Cholera vaccines are available but do not eliminate the need for preventive measures.

• Severe infection can kill within hours, but quick rehydration can eliminate the risk of death.

Top 10 Causes of Deaths in Low-income Countries in 2016

• Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional conditions

  • Lung infections (pneumonia, etc.)

  • Diarrhea

  • HIV/AIDS

  • Malaria

  • Tuberculosis

  • Complications during birth

• Noncommunicable diseases

  • Heart disease

  • Stroke

• Injuries

  • Road injury

Top 10 Causes of Deaths in Upper-middle-income Countries in 2016

• Noncommunicable diseases

  • Heart disease

  • Stroke

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  • Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers

  • Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

  • Diabetes mellitus

  • Liver cancer

  • Stomach cancer

• Injuries

  • Road injury

• Communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional conditions

  • Lung infections (pneumonia, etc.)

Polio

• Caused by water contaminated by a virus transmitted in fecal matter.

• Once infected 100,000 new people per year.

• Could result in paralysis and death.

• Jonas Salk (April 12, 1955): Announced an effective injectable vaccine.

• Albert Sabin: Developed an oral vaccine six years later.

• Vaccines became the centerpiece of a global health campaign to eliminate polio.

• 1988: A joint effort by governments, private organizations, and UN agencies began.

• Polio eliminated in almost all countries in less than 30 years.

• Remaining areas: Pakistan and Afghanistan, where war hinders vaccine administration.

• Political unrest and religious fundamentalism cause fear of