Photo: Bua during H1N1 Hospital Treatment Stay
All over the world epidemics and disease are a part of everyday life. People who live with these problems face serious consequences with health, fear for sick family members and overall concern for what the future holds. However, epidemics, such as malaria, cholera, dengue and typhoid do not occur solely in developing nations, recently an epidemic of H1N1 struck the United States. All of these illnesses are extremely serious and have caused countless deaths in many countries. However, they are also very treatable, but without proper care or education, they can both become quite serious and deadly.
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Africa and Asia. In 2008, the World Health Organization estimated that 190 to 311 million cases of malaria were reported and 708,000 to 1,003,000 people died of malaria, most of them children in Africa. Malaria is a serious and often fatal sickness caused by a parasite that lives in some female mosquitoes. When a person is bit by an infected mosquito, it transmits the parasite through its saliva into the red blood cells. Within a couple of weeks the person begins to feel flu-like symptoms, including joint pain, headache, chills, and sometimes anemia. If he or she is not treated, then the infection will progress to kidney failure, confusion, coma, and death. However, if treated with medication, malaria is very easily treated. For people traveling outside of the United States, to areas with high prevalence of malaria, there are pills that can be taken to help reduce the risks of contracting the infection.
Two years ago, while volunteering in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, I was infected with malaria. One night I was outside with some friends and I was bitten several times by a mosquito; one week later I woke up sick. Although I can laugh about it now, the morning I woke up feeling sick was the worst feeling I have ever experienced. At that moment, I knew what it felt like to be dying. My muscles and joints hurt, I had no appetite, I was very fatigued, and I felt extremely feverish. Luckily for me, I was treated very quickly at the local clinic and I had the five dollars it cost to buy medication. My experience with malaria, although scary, is not comparable to the stories of the locals who contract the disease. Often times, they have to walk hours or even days to reach the closest hospital or clinic, and once they get there they have to wait several more hours until they can be seen. Then they have to have enough money to buy the medication. For them, malaria means death unless they can find somewhere to get the money for medicine. Unfortunately people can contract malaria over and over again, which makes it difficult with families with lots of children to always have the funds available for healthcare. As a result, thousands of people die yearly, mostly children who do not have access to help.
Dengue fever is an infection also transmitted through mosquitoes. It is estimated that there are over 100 million cases of dengue worldwide each year. When a person contracts dengue, they experience fevers, headaches, pain behind the eyes, rash, and bleeding such as nose bleeds. In its most severe cases dengue fever causes failure of the circulatory system leading to death. Although there is no specific treatment for dengue, rest, hydration and pain relievers can help reduce the risks of death. The best way to avoid contracting dengue is to properly cover any still water, so water jugs must be covered to avoid mosquitoes laying their eggs in them.
Recently, there have been several small outbreaks of dengue in Queensland, Australia. The three most recent outbreaks took place in January and February 2011 when 8 people, 42 people, and 9 people got sick. Queensland Health has developed a Dengue Fever Management Plan to help the government properly control the outbreaks. The DFMP focuses on three major aspects, disease surveillance, mosquito control and surveillance, and education. People living in Queensland face the fear of having another outbreak pop up at any time. Therefore, many families have begun to focus on prevention, such as mosquito repellent, mosquito zappers, and getting rid of mosquito breeding grounds to help alleviate the problem. Although dengue is usually not a serious infection, it still affects families all over the world.
The third global epidemic is cholera. An estimated 3 to 5 million cases and over 100,000 deaths occur each year around the world. Cholera is found in water or food sources that have been contaminated with feces from an already infected person. Most commonly, it is found in areas with poor water sanitation and inadequate hygiene. In most cases of cholera the symptoms are often mild or even none existent. However, one out of every 20 people who contract the infection will have severe symptoms, such as profuse, watery diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps. In these cases, rapid dehydration and shock occurs, and death can occur within hours. If caught early, cholera can be treated by rehydration and replacement of salts. Severe cases also require intravenous fluid replacement. With prompt rehydration, less than one percent of cholera patients die.
In October 2010 a cholera outbreak was confirmed in Haiti after the January earthquake that hit the country. Since cholera had not been documented in Haiti for many years, it was considered unlikely that an epidemic would occur, however only months after the earthquake, people started getting sick. Since then, the CDC has been working to control the spread of the disease and treat those already sick. They are increasing access to oral rehydration formulas as well as improving access to sanitation and clean water. They are also holding sessions for families, communities, and health care providers on the causes, symptoms, and treatments for cholera. Living in an area infected with cholera is extremely difficult but manageable. People must make a conscious effort to drink, cook with, and wash in clean water. They must also be knowledgeable about the food they are eating and where it comes from, to make sure that it is not contaminated. Cholera is a very controllable infection if people have the information to protect themselves and their families.
Typhoid fever is a life threatening illness found both in the United States and developing nations. Each year, about 400 people are diagnosed with it in the US, while almost 21.5 million people are diagnosed in developing nations. Typhoid presents with a high fever, weakness, stomach pains, headache or loss of appetite. It is contracted by people who eat food or drink beverages that are contaminated with Salmonella, or if Salmonella gets into the water people use for drinking or washing food. Consequently, it is more commonly found in countries where hand washing is used less frequently and water is contaminated with sewage. However, there are two simple methods for preventing typhoid fever. First of all, avoid eating foods or drinking beverages that could be contaminated. A good way to do this is to only eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked and fruits that can be peeled, and to only drink from sealed bottles and avoid drinks with ice cubes. Ryan Bishop, an American who traveled to Mexico contracted typhoid from drinking out of a contaminated bottle, “I got it by drinking from a dirty beer bottle my first night in Mexico. It was a brand new bottle but they washed the bottles with dirty city water.” In this situation, although Bishop followed the suggestions as to avoid typhoid, he unfortunately still contracted it. In communities where people are not educated about how to prevent typhoid, the chances of contracting it are still high. The second way to avoid typhoid is to get vaccinated against it. The vaccination takes a couple weeks to begin working, but it lasts up to a couple of years. By following these two steps, typhoid fever is extremely preventable.
H1N1 is another illness which has affected people here in the United States. In the spring of 2009, the first cases of H1N1 flu were detected, ultimately infecting thousands of people, ranging from small children and babies to the elderly. Also called "swine flu", it was a new virus which had not been introduced to the public, and ultimately became a pandemic, spreading all over the world. Consequently, many more people became sick with influenza than normal. Bua Bishop, now a young mother, contracted H1N1 before she got pregnant. “It was the worst flu I ever had,” said Bishop, “I felt tired and I didn’t want to do anything but sleep. My body’s temperature went high all the time even though I just got out from the shower.” Bishop presented with all of the typical symptoms, including fever, cough, chills, sore throat, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. After going to the hospital and getting tested to confirm the diagnosis, she was immediately put on antibiotics. After three days in the hospital receiving shots, she was released and feeling better. Bishop was extremely lucky that her case was not ultimately life-threatening; however several people lost their lives that year to H1N1. H1N1 is both treatable and preventable. By getting a flu shot before flu season begins and staying well hydrated and eating right throughout the winter, lowering the chances of getting influenza are good.
In the end, epidemics are serious threats to people all over the world. They occur in places other than just developing nations and can affect people living in Western nations. With the proper medicine and education, we can help prevent the spread of these epidemics and lessen the death they cause.
