An area that has not been specifically talked about in class
is the increase in zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are spread between
animals and humans. The type of infection is not specific. It can be bacterial,
viral, parasitic, or fungal. While
malaria and dengue are zoonotic disease (1), the one that has been in the local
news recently is animal influenza (aka bird and swine flu) (3). There is
currently a bird flu strand name H7N9 that has now spread from China to Hong
Kong. With this current strand of the 137 that have gotten sick, 45 have died
(5). Like many other strands before it the worry is that it will mutate and
become more contagious and spread. There
is currently no vaccination against this strand of influenza.
More often zoonotic diseases seem to be attracting more
publicity in the media. It has appeared to me that there is an increase in the numbers
of zoonotic diseases that have emerged. This could be due to the increase in contact
between human and livestock populations. The increase in world travel and globalization
could make it easier for the diseases to spread to areas faster than they used
to as well (2). Another factor that could be leading to the increase in
zoonotic diseases is the urbanization or deforestation of previously uninhabited
areas. The movement of people to these new areas increase contact to arthropods
that could expose humans to new viruses (2).
Not only can zoonotic diseases have an impact on the health
of humans directly through sickness or death they can also effect the economy. The
impact that zoonotic diseases can have on the food supply is illustrated in the
case of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or colloquially known as mad cow
disease. It emerged in the UK in 1986 and up to 1 million cattle may have been
infected by 1997. In 1995 variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) first
appeared and was believed to be caused by BSE infected cattle that was
consumed. People who contract vCJD
slowly lose the ability to see, speak, or feed themselves due to brain damage
(3). When it becomes known that a country has a case of BSE beef prices are hit
hard locally and generally beef exports are banned from a country suspected of
having a case of BSE. BSE has already extremely hurt the beef industry in the
UK and also has hurt the US beef industry when a case was found in Washington
in 2003 (4). Should something similar
happen in a developing country it could wipe out certain agricultural practices
and damage economies.
While these zoonotic diseases have received media attention
other diseases such as Leptospirosis (passed from rats) or brucellosis (passed
from cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and dogs) have not received the same
publicity. In some cases there are treatments or vaccinations to prevent
transmission. No matter where the disease is, increased coordination from
experts in all areas will be needed to come together to find ways to prevent
the spread of these diseases.
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