Throughout this course, we have learned about various diseases that caused epidemics in the world. Some of these diseases include the plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, and the potato blight. I chose to do my emerging diseases paper on general information about anthrax and several cases from the 2001 series in the United States (US).

I learned that many infectious diseases traveled quickly due to lack of knowledge and poor hygiene. Animals also served as vectors, so when people began to live in closer proximity to their animals, more infectious diseases were seen. Since then, people have separated themselves from certain animals. Obviously, we still live with our beloved cats and dogs, but we no longer let our goats sleep next to us.

As for the plague, we have essentially eliminated it from the US. There has not been an epidemic of the plague in the US since 1924. In 2009, the plague became epidemic in Madagascar. This is likely due to poor hygiene, poverty, political upheaval, health clinics closing, lack of clean water, and accumulated trash which attracted rats that were infected. They also kept crops inside. In rats’ eyes, this was food, which brought infected fleas inside homes and closer to people. Many people also unbury the dead to consult with them, thus spreading the plague even more.

While I think everyone wants to get rid of disease, how far can you go to do so? This is an ethical dilemma. In class, we discussed the Tuskegee study as an example of ethics, or a lack of, in research. In this study, government doctors offered treatment for black men infected with syphilis. The subjects were not told that they had syphilis and endured painful spinal taps. The research was done to see the long-term effects of syphilis. This study was unethical because it denied patients treatment, which caused many of them to die. The doctor who oversaw the study was—and still—believed what he was doing was ethical. He rationalized the harm of the subjects with the benefits he thought it would give to society and medicine.

Another example of a study that had a large impact on the guidelines for ethics of infectious diseases is the Guatemala venereal disease study. In this study, researchers infected prisoners in Guatemala with gonorrhea or syphilis. They were not told they were being infected, and again, many of the subjects died because of the study.  The study was also rationalized in the same manner as the Tuskegee study. So how do you overcome these ethical dilemmas? By setting guidelines for research, ethics may still be held at a standard allowing for trust in medical professionals. Although there are always ethical dilemmas occurring in the medical field, these guidelines can keep the medical professionals from veering into the wrong direction that will harm society.

Getting back to diseases, smallpox was deadly, but was eradicated in the 1980s. If you had smallpox when it first appeared, everyone could tell because of the pustules on your skin. In the 17th and 18th centuries, approximately one-third of the population in London was scarred and two-thirds were blind. The variola major type of smallpox had a 30% mortality rate; whereas, the variola minor type of smallpox had a 1% mortality rate. The spread of smallpox was rapid due to wars, movements of populations, trade routes and caravans, and the slave trade. There were many supposed remedies for smallpox, to include, bloodletting, leeches, fasting, laxatives, purgatives, diuretics, heat therapy, and cold therapy. Luckily, smallpox was eradicated using surveillance and containment. When someone was found to have smallpox, they were isolated to contain the disease. Then everyone around them was vaccinated to prevent the disease from spreading. The difficulty with this was finding those infected with smallpox before they transmitted the disease to others.

While the US is on the fad of cutting carbohydrates from their diets to lose weight, Ireland remembers the potato famine that occurred in the 1800s. When three-quarters of potatoes was lost to blight, the Irish began experiencing widespread starvation, diseases, and emigration. Scientists are now genetically editing foods rather than genetically modifying them. Gene-editing is when DNA is essentially cropped—as in part of the DNA are removed. Gene-modification is when new genes are introduced to and grow into DNA. Since nothing is added with gene-editing, I believe people will be more supportive of it in the hopes of not having another potato blight.

Another disease we learned about in this course was Tuberculosis (TB). TB is an infection caused by the bacteria mycobacterium tuberculosis. The infection mainly targets the lungs, but the kidneys, bones, lymph nodes, and brain can also be attacked. Symptoms of TB include evening fever, night sweats, blood spitting, weak pulse, diarrhea, and emaciation. TB becomes a problem when treatments are not carried out properly and it becomes drug resistant. I doubt that the world will ever be eradicated of TB because this would require curing everyone, which would cost a lot of money that uninfected Americans would not be happy to pay.

The last disease we discussed in depth as a class was Cholera. Cholera is a dangerous disease that can kill you within a day. The symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration. The last pandemic occurred in India in 1961. This disease is not as prevalent because sanitation has increase, along with other factors like better healthcare.

This class taught me a lot about diseases and the effects they can have on various societies. My favorite part of the course was learning about anthrax, which is why I am happy we could choose a topic for our emerging diseases paper. I think future classes should also be able to choose their own topic.

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