Article discovered on http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/257764.php. This article was written by Kelly Fitzgerald, a writer for Medical News Today on March 16, 2013.
This article discusses how scientists believe that another deadly pandemic such as the Black Death can occur again at any given time in today's society. This is possible because of all of the constant movement of objects and people between countries, today's society is very global. People are constantly going to other countries as tourists or businessmen for international business. Also trade and war have a significant role in moving objects and people from country to country. Just recently in London archeologists just discovered Black Death victims graves. Scientists are worried about the possiblity of the Plague returning because it is a bacterium and there are many infectious bacteriums that are now becoming antibiotic resistant.
According to the author of this article the Plague is a recurring infectious disease that affects the lungs and is extremely contagious, causing outbreaks across great populations. There is a issue in society today of viruses and other infectious diseases are mutating and spreading throught the global population again. Scientists are starting to plan for future epidemics and have already found a treatment for the prevention of the Plague which is levaquin. Levaquin treats infections that are caused by certain kinds of bacteria and treats and prevents anthrax infection after exposure. It is also a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
I thought that this article was very interesting and relates a lot to our class about how infectious diseases are always mutating for survival, the same way we mutate our lifestyles to fight off this diseases. Also this relates to class when we were studing the Plague and how there were a few cases reported in the United States over the last couple of years. Although the Plague is not as deadly as it once was back in the 13th and 14th century it still poses a threat to society because it will never be irraticated because it mostly survives in wild animals.
This article made me appreciate the fact that I have learned about infectious diseases because now I am aware of what is going on and how this diseases that were so deadly long ago can still surface in today's society because of mutations that the disease makes to stay alive.
This article was especially disturbing to read because it discusses the possibility of a pandemic plague breaking out again. From what we learned about the plague in class it was extremely lethal and infectious killing a majority of the world's population. To think of the slimmest chance that this could occur in modern times is even more frightening because our cities are more packed and our population has skyrocketed since the plague last hit. Our increased travel and population makes it much easier for a disease to spread quickly and across the globe. Although doctors have found that Levaquin can be used to treat plague it can not necessarily be relied on because the plague could mutate.
ReplyDeleteAlex, nice article choice. This was scary to read about and actually found myself imagining today if we got struck with a disease as deadly as the plague. Today we have modern hospitals, technology, and medicine that with it all there could be a chance of us beating the plague, but regardless, lives would stuff get taken. I think its crazy how in the beginning the talked about all of the international exchanges going on which is the biggest contributor to the chance of us getting a deadly disease like the plague again. International exchanges for the most part are always encouraged, do you think this would change that?
ReplyDeleteThis article made me think a lot about how something like the plague could come back at anytime, and how in this day and age it could travel across the world in no time at all. At the same time it made me wonder how long modern science could find a cure or vaccine for something like this. Traveling is something a lot of people do and with it so easy to travel to other countries you could see how this could spread so quick if it occurred. Although traveling is easy communication across the world is easier than before and scientists from all around the world could work together to find a cure. I would hope if this were to happen our modern technology would be relatively quick in fixing it. It is not something I want to find out though
ReplyDeleteThis article made me think a lot about how something like the plague could come back at anytime, and how in this day and age it could travel across the world in no time at all. At the same time it made me wonder how long modern science could find a cure or vaccine for something like this. Traveling is something a lot of people do and with it so easy to travel to other countries you could see how this could spread so quick if it occurred. Although traveling is easy communication across the world is easier than before and scientists from all around the world could work together to find a cure. I would hope if this were to happen our modern technology would be relatively quick in fixing it. It is not something I want to find out though
ReplyDelete