Summary
An alarming increase in the list of infectious diseases is attributed to the rapid increase in human activities that disrupt the natural environments of disease-causing life forms. The changes in the environmental conditions have also contributed in increasing the vulnerability of humans to infection. The rapid rise in trade, tourism and migration are factors responsible for the spread of diseases by serving as disease-carriers. Unfortunately, the efforts to combat infectious diseases have not progressed as rapidly as the spread of these diseases. Until now, several major infectious have remained a mystery to humans.
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Extract
The resurgence of infectious diseases.
MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTICS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES ARE ON THE RISE - WITH THE MOST DANGEROUS ONES NOW CARRIED BY SOME 2 BILLION PEOPLE. IN THE COMING YEARS, THE EPIDEMICS ARE ONLY LIKELY TO GET WORSE - UNLESS PUBLIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS ARE BROUGHT INTO THE FUTURE PLANNING OF ALL PUBLIC WORKS.
In May 1993, a physically fit 20-year-old Navajo Indian - a cross-country and track star - began gasping for air while driving to his wife's funeral near Gallup, New Mexico. For several hours, the man suffered from what seemed to be a severe but otherwise unremarkable case of the flu. Then, abruptly, his condition worsened. Blood filled his lungs. He was taken to an emergency room, where he died - drowning in his own serum. Reports confirm that around the same time, three other healthy Navajos in the Four Corners area (where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah meet) died from cases of flu or pneumonia gone suddenly awry. Clearly, something horrific was on the loose - but what? Medical authorities from the state of New Mexico, the Indian Health Department, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questioned families, relatives and friends, pored over medical records, and investigated possible links among...See the full content of this document
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