Protect Yourself: Dangerous Diseases on the Rise

There are a variety of reasons for the resurgence of certain diseases, and some of the fault inevitably lies with the human population: Over consumption and the prevalence of an inactive lifestyle have resulted in skyrocketing rates of obesity and the illnesses related to it. And some believe that parents who ignore vaccination recommendations are keeping certain childhood maladies alive that could be eliminated. Experts are also concerned about the likelihood of certain diseases that have the capability to pass from animals to humans. Here are some scary sicknesses that are on the rise:

1. Tuberculosis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in three people worldwide has been exposed to tuberculosis. One of the oldest known diseases, it primarily attacks the lungs but can also affect the brain, kidneys, and spine. For nine in 10 of those with a latent infection, the bacteria will remain dormant; however, in 2006 approximately 9.6 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis, and 1.5 million died. While the detection rate of new tuberculosis cases was halved between 2005 and 2006, it increased by 3 percent in 2007 and again in 2008. What most concerns the medical community is the rise of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, which have a much higher mortality rate, especially among people whose immune systems are already compromised by disease or age.

2. Whooping Cough. The number of people infected by this highly contagious respiratory tract infection, which resembles the common cold in its initial stages but progresses in about a week’s time to severely constrict the trachea and bronchi, had fallen to just 1,000 in the United States in 1976. But it has since rebounded, with more than 25,000 cases reported in 2004. Some experts blame this increase on parents who fail to get their children immunized, especially in light of the recent controversy over the supposed link between vaccinations and autism.