How to Protect Yourself Against Diseases You Thought Were Extinct — Leprosy, Plague, Scurvy And More
By: JB Bardot
Many diseases that were thought to be extinct have begun to reappear in different parts of the world, and even ‘ancient diseases’ such as leprosy can still be found in the US. Although most are caused by poverty, poor sanitation, or are transferred from animals, other diseases such as rickets have reappeared as a result of parent’s attempts to protect their children from sun exposure. While the majority of the US population is lining up to get the latest vaccine or flu shot to protect themselves from this year’s ‘superbug’, many people in poor countries are still battling with conditions such as rickets and bubonic plague. Takes a look at four diseases that are still lurking in various parts of the planet, including in the US.
Rickets
Rickets is a condition that causes softening of the bones and can lead to increased risk of fracturing and bone deformities. It is most common in the developing world and is caused by a lack of vitamin D; however, vitamin D deficiency is common even in the US, and cases of rickets are popping up repeatedly. The main source of vitamin D comes from periods of sun exposure, and is vital to human health as it enables to body to absorb and utilize essential minerals such as calcium. While it can be obtained through certain foods, vitamin D is usually only available in trace amounts and the body can produce an adequate supply as long as a person spends time each day in direct sunlight. Otherwise vitamin D supplementation is required to obtain adequate amounts to keep healthy.
Physicians in the UK have seen an alarming increase in the amount of children diagnosed with rickets, and more than 20% of children tested for bone problems at Southampton General Hospital in England were found to display signs of the crippling disease. When questioned, the parents of the children all admitted to regularly covering their children with factor 50 sunblock whenever they went out of the house, and many children did not get adequate exposure to sunlight due to excessive time spent on indoor activities such as video games. Most parents claimed they were following the advice of sunblock manufacturers who routinely advise parents to cover newborn babies in the highest level of sunblock available. Not only has this led to many children suffering painful joint and bone problems, sunblock is packed with other harmful toxins such as oxybenzone which has been linked to hormone disruption and skin cancer. Safer alternatives to sunblock for protection against sunburn include coconut oil, sesame oil, aloe Vera, and consuming foods such as tomatoes, watermelon and grapefruit which contain lycopene, a natural UV deterrent.
Bubonic Plague
Bubonic plague, better known as the Black Death, devastated Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated 25 million people. It can be contracted from a flea bite and causes extremely swollen lymph nodes, high fever, rotting of the skin, coma, and death. Nowadays it is easily treated conventionally with a combination of antibiotics and is considered to be extinct in the developed world, but poorer countries such as Madagascar are facing an epidemic as the disease is still spreading throughout the population.
Last year Madagascar reported 256 cases of bubonic plague which led to 60 deaths, and The Red Cross is working with local health institutions to try and halt the spread of the disease. It is believed to have spread due to the infestation of flea-ridden rats that are attracted to horrific sanitary conditions in local prisons, and Red Cross member Evaristo Oliviera stated that “A prison is not a sealed place, first of all the staff themselves who work in the prison are at risk, and they go home at the end of the day, already perhaps being a vector of the disease.” The first case of bubonic plague in more than 30 years was reported in Kyrgyzstan earlier this year after a 15 year-old cattle herder died after being bitten by a flea carrying the disease, and more than 400 cases were reported all over the world in 2012.
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Originally Posted by Zippyjuan
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