4/26/10 .docx

4/26/10 History of Mortality Declines Mortality has been high throughout most human history (life expectancy less than 30) Mortality rates began to decline in Europe in 1700s Decline in mortality rates reached less developed countries in 1900s especially after WWII Reductions in mortality are primarily responsible for the explosion in population in the past two centuries (1 billion in 1800 to 6.3 billion in 2004) Reason for Mortality Declines Improved public health Clean water Clean waste disposal Immunizations These measures help avoid disease Improved nutrition Good nutrition helps fight disease Improvements in medicine Until around 1900 physicians could do little to prevent death. Not they can do a lot to fight disease. Categories of Causes of Death Infectious, contagious, and parasitical diseases Diarrheal diseases, pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, flu, malaria Degenerative diseases Cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, renal failure Other Accidents, suicide, homicide Epidemiological Transition?transition from a time when most deaths are due to infectious, contagious, and parasitical diseases to a time when most deaths are due to degenerative diseases Conclusions Regarding Infectious Diseases Infectious disease has been the world?s biggest killer Especially tough on infants and children Infectious disease is not substantially controlled Control greatest in developed world Control will probably never be complete Cycles of immunity insure availability of susceptibles Mutations create new challenges (HIV/AIDS) Zoonoses are always a treat Modern travel practices facilitate disease spread Epidemics can overwhelm treatment infrastructure We may see future use of biological weapons