E. Coli

 From phrases such as “Don’t touch that hamburger!’ to “Watch out for the spinach at the salad bar!” it has become clear that the epidemic of E. Coli has become much more prominent than any of us would like to admit. As of December 23, 2006, around 200 cases were reported in North America alone.
This new strain of E. Coli specifically with spinach has had a major impact on how people choose what they put in their salads, yes. But the other main impact has been on the farmers who produce the spinach. In California, a devastating $74 million is what farmers face to lose over this new strain of E. Coli.
As an example of just how much the spinach crop is worth for these farmers, about $3, 500 is lost with each acre of spinach lost. This sets a state such as California at a huge disadvantage agriculturally and economically due to the fact that about ¾ of all homegrown spinach is harvested in California.

If you would like to read more about the strains of E. Coli, read these articles:
http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2006/12/07/ap3237146.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16161801/

Tuberculosis XDR

The ‘XDR’ in tuberculosis XDR stands for “Extensively Drug Resistant”. What does this mean? It means that it is virtually untreatable. The first reported outbreak of this was in KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa, in September 2006. 52 out of the 53 patients diagnosed with the XDR stain died within 25 days; 44 of them were found to be HIV positive. In combination with HIV infection, XDR-TB works quickly, sometimes killing within sixteen days. A moral dilemma was presented to the WHO (World Health Organization) as to whether XDR-TB patients should be quarantined to stop the outbreak.

A more common drug resistant strain of tuberculosis is the MDR strain. MDR stands for multi-drug resistant. The fewer drugs a strain is resistant to, the better. With the emergence of XDR-TB, doctors have looked more closely at their patients with MDR-TB. In some countries, studies have shown that a percentage of MDR-TB cases have met the criteria for XDR-TB:
US: 4%
South Korea: 15%.
Eastern Europe: 19%

Concern is focused mostly on Africa. Because of the effect tuberculosis XDR has on HIV positive patients, it could become particularly crippling in Africa. It could quickly become a global problem if there is no quarantine to stop the spread. In America, one man has already been imprisoned after being diagnosed with XDR-TB and refusing to take measures to prevent spreading it to others. His confinement has sparked an ethical dilemma.

For more information on the confinement of Robert Daniels see: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17915965/
For more on XDR-TB see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XDR-TB

Bird Flu

The CDC had a lot of information on Bird Flu. Here's a rundown of the main facts about bird flu:

• Bird Flu, also known as Avian Influenza, is caused by bird flu viruses that occur "naturally by birds" (CDC). Because of this, consumption of such domestic birds such as ducks, chickens, and turkeys can cause a transferring of the disease.
• The virus can be spread through saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Any contact with said bodily excretions can cause the contraction of the virus and accordingly Bird Flu. The virus can also reside on certain surfaces. Contact with said surfaces can lead to the contraction of the disease; this acts as a catalyst for the spread of the disease from wild birds to domestic birds.
• There are two forms of the disease: low pathogenic and high pathogenic. Low pathogenic form causes mild symptoms "such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production" (CDC) and in some cases, it can go undetected. High pathogenic form "spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry" (CDC) thus facilitating the spread. it affects the organs and has a mortality of rate of 90-100% within a 48 hours time frame.
• There are 16 known subtypes of the virus. When people say "bird flu virus" they usually mean influenza A viruses which have been reported in both birds and humans. "Human influenza virus" refers to the 3 known subtypes of influenza viruses: H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2. If there is an outbreak among several birds, there is a risk to those who have been in contact with infected birds or surfaces.
• Human symptoms include regular flu symptoms (sneezing, fever, coughing, sore throat) and "eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases....and other severe and life-threatening complications). The symptoms are dictated by which virus one has.
• Some research indicates that some prescription medicines which have been prescribed or human influenza have been known to treat avian influena in humans but it may not work in all cases.

This site was very helpful in giving an easy to understand general rundown on what Bird Flu is and how it can and has affected people along with how it is spread.

Facts about AIDS

•HIV started spreading rapidly after World War II and most likely originated in Africa
•The first case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was discovered in 1981, but recent research has proven, through blood sample, that a man in 1959 who died was infected with HIV.
•The first few cases of AIDS were found in the United States in gay men, and therefore AIDS was originally named GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency)

Ways to contract HIV:
•Intercourse
•Sharing needles or syringes
•Blood transfusions
•Breastfeeding
•Being born while the mother is infected


Facts about AIDS/HIV
•Leading cause of death for people between the ages 25-44


The difference between HIV and AIDS:
•HIV is the virus that causes AIDS
•AIDS generally occurs when the t-cell (measure of the strength of an immune system) count goes below 200

Dangers of AIDS:
•Parasitic, fungal, viral, and bacterial infections
•Certain types of cancers

Pandemics in the news

There are two articles in the 2/22/07 St.Louis Post Dispatch that deal with pandemics in both Russia and Ethiopia and how those governments are dealing with the problem.

Polio's Possible Comeback as an Epidemic

While searching through the National Geographic Magazine's website, I came across an article about Polio. Polio is a disease that is contagious and has devastated vast numbers of people all through history. The recommended vaccination is called an IPV, but an earlier version was invented by Albert Sabin in 1964, and is called an OPV (oral polio vaccination). Moreover, Jonas Salk invented an even earlier version in 1955. Polio is most commonly seen in children under five years old and the most severe forms may cause muscles to weaken and therefore leave an individual paralyzed or dead. Although polio has not been seen in the Western Hemisphere since 1991, and UN campaigns for vaccination are 99% successful, cases are suddenly becoming increasingly common in many countries in Africa and Asia. Countries such as Nigeria and India are seeing a gigantic leap in the number of people affected from 2005 to 2006. For example, the number of people with polio reported in India in 2005 was 35, but in 2006, it was 249. Due to staggering numbers such as those in India, scientist and researchers believe that polio may be making a comeback as an international epidemic.


Many may be wondering why this disease has made such a comeback recently, and scientist, although unsure, have a few guesses. For instance, with the number of international travelers on the rise constantly, the diseases could be transferring from country to country with great ease. In addition, contaminated water and over population in countries with poor sanitary conditions may be a cause. People in less informed areas of these countries also seem to be receiving inaccurate information about vaccination, such as the medicine is laced with a drug which causes HIV or infertility. Large Muslim populations in Middle Eastern countries seem to be receiving the most incorrect information, and therefore more and more people are too scared to be treated for their disease. Besides the UN, which has been taking strides to stop polio since early in history, most countries are taking it upon themselves to help their people as well. Hopefully, with all the work being put towards keeping polio at bay, the disease will not spread much farther, and will not become what many expect it to be: an epidemic.

Melissa Martin's Post

***Although this post has been posted under my name, it was written and researched by my partner Melissa Martin. Tonight she called me because she was unable to locate her invitation to the blog. I have posted her post under my name so that it would make it onto the site by 8:00 A.M. Monday morning.***


Pandemics and epidemics have gradually become somewhat easier to treatand control over the past 20th century due to advances in public healthand technology . At the turn of the 20th century, the 6th cholera pandemichit, but in places such as Europe, the effect was not so great because oftheir advances in public health. However in countries such as Russia whichwas not so technologically or industrially advanced, the cholera pandemicfrom 1899-1923 hit very hard. Russia was once again hit very hard by thispandemic as it had in been in 1852-1860 when the third pandemic hit Russiacausing over a million deaths.

Towards the end of the 20th century, however, with a pandemic such as AIDS, one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history, there hasbeen a surge of epidemiologists who have made incredible advancements inthe awareness of epidemics and pandemics.

Accompanying these advances, there has been a greater study of the ethicssurrounding such pandemics as AIDS as epidemiologists have learned to morecarefully consider the privacy rights of individual victims. With thiscloser look at ethics, victims of pandemics such as AIDS have become lessvulnerable to the stigma of the disease itself. They have less fear ofpublic reprisal than victims of pandemics have been in past times duringepidemics such as the black plague.

http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/22/1/169.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS