Final Reflective Essay

Final Reflective Essay

Help received: Artifacts 6, 8, and 9

Word Count: 1020

Intro

The human race has been fighting against diseases throughout much of history. Infectious diseases had the ability to kill millions in earlier times due to little scientific knowledge. However, because of events like this throughout history we have been able to discover and find cures for many diseases that at one time would have been a death sentence. Throughout the semester we covered quite a few different types of infectious diseases, just to name a few: the black death, syphilis, smallpox, the Irish potato blight, HIV/AIDS, and influenza. We also covered the many different geographical locations where they can occur ranging from the U.S. all the way to Africa. The main things I am going to reflect on about some of these diseases are where they originated, as well as societal impacts and attempts at eradication.

Changes in Society

Society can be changed drastically as a result from an outbreak of infectious diseases. Some example of changes that can occur are: lack of faith in government, trust issues with the medical community, paranoia, and economic destruction. Once the public begins to believe that there is no cure for a disease, they look for alternate cures which almost never work.

One good example of the negative effects on a society of a devastating infectious disease can be taken from the Irish Potato Blight which can be found in “Artifact 6.” From 1845-1852 the blight decimated nearly half to three-quarters of all acres planted. A direct result from the blight was a seed shortage which continued to hurt potato production for quite a few years following (Artifact 6). Not only did the blight decimate the potato population, it was estimated that it led to the death of about 25% of Ireland’s human population. Often when something catastrophic like the potato famine occurs, it creates sort of a domino effect in which following the catastrophic event, other bad things tend to follow. In this case, due to the poor nutrition from the loss of the potatoes, diseases were able to spread quickly. Finally following the increased spread of disease came a mass migration of families to places like the U.S. in search of new beginnings.

(Here is a link to see a video explaining the blight much better than I am able to do so https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evtEDIQSwvc )

Impact societies have on the emergence of diseases

The spread of an infectious disease can not always be attributed to strictly a wild or domesticated animal. The main reason diseases get spread so easily is simply the lack of hygiene found in many underdeveloped places and even some more developed places. The problem that underdeveloped countries have when it comes to preventing disease is that they often do not have available resources. Washing ones’ hands and certain foods can be accrediting to preventing more disease than we may be able to comprehend. Underdeveloped countries often do not have access to clean water supplies which can attribute to the spread of disease greatly.

A good example of a society’s impact that was covered during the semester can be found in “Artifact 8.” In the past two hundred years there have been 7 pandemics of cholera. Cholera is transmitted through the oral-fecal route and is most easily spread in areas with poor hygiene and sanitation. Unwashed food items, contaminated water, and raw or undercooked meats are the main ways that it is spread (Artifact 8). During this topic we covered how Cholera was spread to other countries by exports of contaminated goods, as well as the pandemic in Haiti. From there we watched an animated video that showed how someone’s village began to get infected with Cholera because the villagers contaminated their drinking water and had poor hygiene. This is the perfect example of how the spread of a disease was caused by the community itself.

How modern society can be impacted by emerging and re-emerging diseases

Modern society is not too much different from societies throughout history in the way that they respond to an emerging or re-emerging infectious disease. There are many people who do not believe in the power of modern medicine like those in the “anti-vax” group. Unfortunately, their beliefs cause more harm than good and make many diseases that have cures spread. However, one key difference between society today and society in earlier times is the great advances that have been made in modern medicine. Now when there are outbreaks they can be contained and handled much better thanks to organizations like the CDC and WHO.

An example of a more modern infectious disease that was covered this semester can be found in “Artifact 9” which talks about the discovery of HIV/AIDS. The public’s reaction to HIV was very aggressive. People were uncertain of how HIV could be spread and were misinformed by things such as that it could be spread through simple contact of someone who has the disease. However, since the original discovery, modern medicine has shown and informed the public on how HIV/AIDS is actually spread and how to prevent the spread of the disease.

Role society today has in promoting the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases

Today, society does a much better job in preventing diseases. However, there are still many underdeveloped countries where disease is still very prevalent, and they are often unable to prevent and treat many diseases. Although hygiene and medicine has greatly increased, many people still do not take proper steps to keep themselves protected against diseases and can be one of the main reasons that diseases are still spread today.

Conclusion

In closing, there were many topics covered this semester. We learned about many infectious diseases as well as how diseases are spread and prevented. One key takeaway from the semester for myself would have to be that: the spread and treatment of infectious diseases are largely dependent on geographical location and how developed a certain region is. A more informed and developed society is much more able to fight against and prevent infectious diseases compared to an uninformed and underdeveloped country.