 |
ThePrincesTale said:
Haha I'm doing an epidemiology unit at the moment for uni, and it's making me super paranoid.
Eg. every 2 to 3 decades, there's a massive flu pandemic (because of antigenic shift), which we may be due for soon. Also, 1/3 of the world's population has latent tuberculosis infection 0_o (completely asymptomatic, but with the pathogen still buried away in your lungs).
Most of all though, I'm scared of the diseases which we were so close to eradicating in the western world but which have seen a resurgence because of anti-vaxxers. Measles is a horrible disease: 1/1000 infected kids will get encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and of these, 20% will die, and 40% will be left with permanent and life-long brain damage. It is also one of the most contagious- you can still get infected even hours after a measles sufferer leaves the room. The USA was completely free of this disease in 2000. But because of misinformation and lies perpetuated about vaccines, it has made a massive comeback, particularly this year.
Diptheria is another horrible vaccine-preventable disease that should terrify you. It was pretty much non-existent in developed countries until last month, when a 6-year old unvaccinated boy contracted it in Spain. It's such a rare disease due to immunisation that they didn't even have the anti-toxin anymore (this was the first case in 29 years)- after appealing to the WHO, doctors eventually found a dose in Russia. Despite intensive care, the boy died anyway.
Anyway. Communicable diseases are scary. Get your vaccinations, people.
|
|
