Keeping up to date, here is a list of current diseases around the world: Ebola: The Pestilence that Stalks in Darkness As the chaos continually mounts, vast panoply of both disease and plagues scattered widely across the planet have begun to alarm both national and international health experts. Nor are these the typical infectious diseases which routinely occur on every continent on an ongoing yearly basis but rather, these are some of the most deadly diseases known to man, historically. Chief among these deadly contagions is the fear-spawning Ebola hemorrhagic virus which is even now spreading across West Africa. As an infectious disease, Ebola boasts one of the most brutal mortality rates of any other known disease, often killing up to 90% of those who contract it. This latest outbreak of Ebola, the Zaire Strain (ZEBOV) made its appearance first known on March 23rd, 2014 in Guinea, Africa, thousands of miles away from Ebolas last appearance which occurred in Uganda in November of 2012. However, this time things are different. Virtually every prior Ebola outbreak had been contained more or less within the province of its origins; this time, the virus has reached epidemic proportions. Indeed, this outbreak of the Ebola virus is the worst in its history, going all the way back to almost 40 years, to 1976 where the first recorded occurrence of the virus killed 280 victims. The main problem isnt necessarily the number killed, at least at this point, but rather its the fact that the disease has proven to be nearly impossible to contain, so far. After the initial outbreak in Guinea the virus has spread from country to country, so much so in fact, that the World Health Organization (WHO) is no longer identifying an individual nation, but in fact is using a region to describe the outbreak, that being West Africa. Pandemic In essence for the first time ever, WHO is using an entire region rather than one single nation state in identifying this particular Ebola outbreak; so what might this potentially mean? The disease is typically spread by either blood or bodily fluids from victims both living and dead. Symptoms present as: Fever Headache Joint and muscle aches Weakness Diarrhea Vomiting Stomach pain Lack of appetite Orifical Bleeding Contagion From Guinea, the disease moved next to Liberia and then into Sierra Leone and even more frighteningly the latest emigration of the disease jumped all the way over to Nigeria as a result of one of the most terrifying scenarios known, that being by passenger jet. The individual, a consultant with the Liberian Finance Ministry died after making it to Lagos, Nigeria several days ago, however, with an incubation rate of as many as three weeks, health officials are most likely now holding their collective breath, hoping wildly that the airline passengers may have just gotten extraordinarily lucky. Unfortunately, Lagos has a population of over 21 million people and is one of the largest cities in the world, not to mention the continent of Africa. Despite all these alarming points there is an even worse factor involved in the fact that the leading Doctors and nurses trying to care for Ebolas victims, are contracting the disease at an alarming rate. In fact, one of the leading doctors, Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, who is also one of the foremost experts on the disease has now contracted the virus in addition to a US doctor, Dr. Kent Brantly, who works for Franklin Grahams Samaritans Purse , and is also an expert in infectious disease. As the death toll in Africa rises and the virus continues to spread, according to WHOs Assistant Director General, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, its not just the Ebola outbreak, but its the fact that infectious diseases are popping up all across the world and he believes the world may not be ready for whats coming. Even worst, many of the ill-understanding villagers at the epicenter of the epidemic believe that both medical workers and Doctors, who are endangering their own lives to aid the sick, are the ones actively bringing the deadly disease. Often threatening violence, mobs of natives seeking retribution against the medical invaders, will often block roads and attack the medical workers vehicles, if not worse, lending a dimension of violent assaults to an already difficult if not terrifying job. Despite the seriousness of Ebola, it is but one of a large number of terrifying contagions now infecting and killing thousands of individuals on virtually every continent, while international health organizations increasingly struggle to keep up. A Plague of Deadly Epidemics The list is long and frightening and appears to be growing. The following summary details some of the worst that have been verified. MERS In the New World, a little known but deadly coronavirus commonly referred to as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which first originated in Saudi Arabia, and is now showing signs of being in America, in addition to the entire Arabian Peninsula region, Europe and Southeast Asia. According to the Washington Post, the disease is now spreading at a terrifying rate. With over 830 recorded cases and almost 300 deaths in 2014, the virus which is initially identified by shortness of breath, fever and cough, is thought to be airborne. Brain Fever In India, an infectious disease commonly referred to a Brain Fever (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome) has killed more than 570 individuals so far in 2014. The disease is not uncommon during monsoon season in India; however this year the disease, not unlike Ebola, has spread through an entire region which is not at all normal. One top Indian medical official admits to being distressed by the runaway conquest of the disease this year. Indian officials are taking steps to control the outbreak including the cancellation of all health official vacations while also fogging various areas in an effort to kill the mosquitos which spread the disease in addition to infected individuals breath, and the eating or drinking of contaminated food. Symptoms include high fever, vomiting, and seizures, paralysis and comas. The Black Death or Plague Many thought that The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) , which decimated nearly one fourth of the worlds population in the 14th century had been wiped out. Unfortunately, the disease is still around and is even creating havoc in China. In fact, the disease has made several appearances over recorded human history. In the 6th and 7th century, the Black Death wiped out almost half of Europes population. The third major pandemic wiped out much of China and Indias populations in 1890. In addition, there were many additional but much smaller outbreaks which occurred over the years that followed; however, in 2014 the disease has made its presence known yet again. In China, the Communist government was forced to close and quarantine a city of over 30,000 people, in order to control a pandemic style outbreak. Luckily, the disease now has a mortality rate of about 15% if treated, but the mortality to jumps to almost 100% if left untreated. However, the US suffered a recent death as a result of the pneumonic plague, which occurred in Colorado, according to ABC news. In late 2013, Madagascar suffered a bout of the plague which killed about 32 people, taking out not quite half of those infected. The disease still shows up in Africa and Asia, in addition to Zambia, India, Malawi, Algeria, China, and Peru with the Democratic Republic of Congo leading the way. The disease is normally transmitted by rodents (squirrels, mice and rats) via the bite of a flea. Symptoms include: Flu-like fever, headache, chills, weakness, and swollen, and tender lymph glands (buboes—hence the name bubonic). Wild Polio In 2014, Polio (Poliomyleitus) has effectively resurfaced. Mostly wiped out in the mid to latter part of the 20th century, the dreaded and highly infectious disease has shown an alarming rate of modern-day recurrences totaling 128 cases, thus far across the globe, in mostly undeveloped areas. Untreated, this disease has no cure once contracted but can be controlled and there are vaccines which can completely prevent infection. The virus can strike at any age, but mostly affects children under the age of five. The disease attacks the nervous system often leaving its victim paralyzed or worse. The African continent in addition to areas within the Mideast appear to be the most vulnerable, however the disease which is spread by poor hygiene, via the mouth, through person to person contact and contact with feces, has recently been discovered in stool samples in more developed areas. Chikungunya Virus The Chikungunya virus has surged in areas all across the world in 2014; however the US Center for Disease Control reports that the mortality rate has also surged of late to about 11.9%, making this mosquito borne illness a cause for extreme concern. The US in 2014 has reported more than 497 cases of the virus, an increase of over 1,700% from years past, owing mostly to a large influx of immigrants from abroad. In addition, in some cases, victims whove been bitten by an infected mosquito never quite fully recover from the joint pain associated with this disease. While most outbreaks have occurred in Asia and Africa, infections can be migrated from anywhere. So far, there have been contractions of the disease in Florida, North Carolina, and New York. The question ultimately becomes one concerning the possibility that the virus has mutated into something much more deadly.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 16:25:35 +0000
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