EPIDEMICS AND PANDEMICS
How do they pertain to the 21st century?
Megan Godfrey
WHAT ARE THEY?
Epidemics rapid spread of something, usually an illness
Pandemics occur over a wide geographic area
http://media.bonnint.net/slc/123/12370/1237071.jpg http://www.soxfirst.com/50226711/pandemic.jpg
WHY WE’RE AT RISK...
Microbes change their genes or mutate, each time they reproduce
Enables them to adapt easier and jump between plants, animals, and humans
During this process, new and lethal microorganisms are created
They are then able to rapidly spread and kill humans
Growing population increases international trade and travel, this can create new diseases
International airline passengers have increased from 200 million in 1950 to 4 billion in 2005
CONTINUED... Disease experts say that international travel allows
infectious disease to spread more quickly than in the past
Today, by the time a disease outbreak is discovered its a good chance that it has already spread to other places
The changes in food production cause more disease Many food products are grown or manufactured in
large quantities, when contamination does occur, it affects many people
Factory farms 10’s of thousands animals raised in crowded, unsanitary conditions
Global trade widens the reach of infectious disease
Can be used as weapons
EXAMPLES OF EPIDEMICS & PANDEMICS
Avian Flu (Bird Flu)• the Avian Virus has the potential to be the cause
of the next deadly flu pandemic• Unsanitary conditions where avian species gather
(food and poultry markets) spread virus• Evidence that it can spread from human to
human• 14 months following December 2003, there were
97 confirmed cases of the avian virus, 53 of the 97 people infected died
http://www.ambhanoi.um.dk/NR/rdonlyres/1B354EDA-F7A1-4780-AAEC8984CF4DCD93/0/birdflu.jpg
AIDS• Life expectancies in HIV/AIDS affected
countries are going to decline• By 2010, many countries in southern Africa
are expected to have life expectancies falling to near 30 years of age
• Median survival time with AIDS is estimated to be around 10 years
• In the past year the epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of approx. 1.5 million people
• More than 11 million children have been orphaned because of AIDS
http://www.avert.org/aids-picture.php?photo_id=426
Cholera• Acute intestinal infection caused by
contaminated food or water• In Zimbabwe there are 16,700 cases so far• There have been 750 cases and 11 deaths in
South Africa as it is spreading• When the rainy season hits, expecting a
massive increase to around 60,000 cases
http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/zimbabwe/2460?source=13215&gclid=CNKP7dGDvpcCFRHxDAodIkbTTA
Type II Diabetes in children and young adults• Changed from a disease older people had to a
disease of children• It’s due to the combination of insulin resistance
and relative b-cell failure• Most children who develop type II diabetes have
a family member with it• Most significant risk factor is obesity• Currently 15-20% of American teens are
overweight• 5 million children are• Diabetes occurs in children who are inactive • Computer games and TV has contributed to type
II diabetes • Major public health problem, diabetes costs
nation more than $100 billion per year
IN CONCLUSION
There are many epidemics and pandemics present in the 21st century and with the increase in laziness, fast foods, population, changes in food production, and international trade and travel the risk for more epidemics and pandemics will only increase.
Kanabus, A. (2008, November 8). HIV and AIDS in Africa. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm
Miller, Debra A. (2007). Pandemics. Michigan: Thomson Gale.
________. Responding to Zimbabwe’s Cholera Epidemic. (2008, December 10). Mercy Corps. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/zimbabwe/
Sfakianos, Jeffery, N.(2006). Avian Flu. New York: Infobase Publishing.
_______. Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults: A "New Epidemic". (2002). Clinical Diabetes. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/20/4/217
_______. Zimbabwe's Cholera Epidemic "far from over". (2008, December 13). China View. Retrieved December 13, 2008, from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/13/content_10499742.htm