With the advancements in modern medicine, we no longer have to suffer the same diseases
that once plagued our planet.
But don't feel too secure, as many of these diseases are making a reappearance.
Here we present to you seven deadly diseases that are making a comeback.
Today's video was done in collaboration with Crazy Random Cool.
More on that later.
Number 7: Syphilis Syphilis was first identified around 300 years
ago when it spread wildly in Europe with shocking virulence.
It has been around much longer, and many historical figures such as Hitler, Beethoven, Lincoln
and Napoleon are believed to have had contracted the STD.
It is caused by the bacteria Treponema Pallidum, and spreads through skin to skin sexual contact,
typically those involving the genitals, anus, and mouth.
Symptoms appear in the form of sores or lesions, and left untreated, can lead to serious complications
in the long run such as paralysis, blindness, dementia, and even death.
With the discovery of antibiotics, the disease is no longer a threat, and is highly treatable
in its early stages with penicillin.
This has lead to a staggering decline in the number of cases throughout the last half of
the 20th century.
However, rates of infection have increased since the turn of the millennium in many countries,
often in combination with HIV.
This is believed to be partly due to changes in sex behavior.
Anonymous and unsafe sex has become more frequent with increased promiscuity, prostitution,
decreasing use of condoms, and easy to use smart phone based hookup apps.
Currently, most cases are among gay people, and Vegas and Washington DC have the highest
syphilis rates in the US.
Number 6: Polio Poliomyelitis, shortened polio, is caused
by the poliovirus.
Polio can come in a few different forms, there is the non-paralytic polio where you might
be infected but with no serious symptoms other than headaches, vomiting, and symptoms of
fever.
Then there is paralytic polio.
This is polio as we know it, where it affects the spine and potentially the brain stem.
Any area of the spine affected will affect the muscles that they innervate, which will
leads to muscle spasms, flaccid paralysis, and in some cases complete paralysis.
Even for those who survive an acute attack, there's still a chance for the development
of post-polio syndrome, the resurgence of paralytic symptoms years afterwards.
There is no specific treatment for polio.
However, an effective vaccine was developed in 1952, and after its widespread global use,
the number of cases worldwide have decreased exponentially.
Polio is targeted to become globally eradicated, and many regions in the world are already
declared polio-free.
This gives the illusion that polio is a thing of the past.
It is not.
August 2016 should have been a historic day for Africa as it would've marked 2 years since
anyone last contracted polio on the continent.
However, 2 cases suddenly appeared that month in Nigeria.
In the country's northeastern Borno State, 2 children were found to be paralyzed by the
disease.
The fact that parts of the area are controlled by Boko Haram militants make efforts to contain
and control the disease much more difficult.
Other countries seeing similar outbreaks are Afghanistan, Pakistan, and surprisingly, Ukraine.
This could be seen as a grave danger, as more people are being negligent towards vaccination
efforts.
Number 5: Measles Measles, or rubeola, is a virus that spreads
by flying into the air during a cough or sneeze, or the sharing of food and drinks.
It was first described in some way by Persian physicians in the year 900.
It causes a rash all over your body, swelling, fever, cough and little spots inside the cheeks
called Koplik spots.
Worst case presentations include encephalitis, blindness, and death.
It's deadly for children, and is one of the leading causes of death for children worldwide.
Since the virus was identified in the early 20th Century, and vaccination was created
in the late 50s, measles has been a relatively easy disease to control.
Since then, WHO has attempted to vaccinate children worldwide, which likely saved hundreds
of thousands of lives.
In fact, the US announced their regional measles strain to have been eliminated in 2000.
Nowadays when you hear about measles outbreak, you might start thinking far back to the 17th
and 18th century, and colonial times.
However, the disease has made a comeback mostly due to the rise of anti-vaxxers, leading to
many unvaccinated children susceptible to the disease.
Vaccination is extremely important, as there is currently no treatment against measles
- meaning it can only be prevented, not cured.
In 2014, there were a record number of measles cases in the US.
There were a staggering 667 cases, with 23 outbreaks, and the majority of the people
infected were unvaccinated.
In 2015, a single exposure in Disneyland California caused 59 reported cases, including 5 employees
in the park.
Number 4: Tuberculosis Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease caused by
the bacteria Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.
It usually affects the lungs, and patients suffer from fever, chronic bloody cough, weight
loss, and when left untreated - leads to death.
The bacterium lies inactive in many people, lying harmlessly unless triggered.
TB used to be a grave infection, and most died after succumbing to the disease.
But in the developed world, it is now seen as a thing of history after the discovery
of antibiotics.
Combined with vaccinations, and early screening processes, TB seems to no longer pose the
same threat it used to.
However, millions in third world countries still die from the disease every year.
But what's most terrifying is the rise of a resistant strain of TB.
Due to excessive use of antibiotics the mycobacterium bacteria has evolved itself to withstand some
of the most effective anti-TB drugs.
84 countries have had confirmed cases of this resistant strain of TB, and around 40,000
new cases are reported annually.
Its resistance is growing, and we could end up seeing a resurgence of TB around the world
as an untreatable disease.
Number 3: Leprosy Leprosy, the disease normally associated with
colonies of lepers with missing limbs that we don’t see much anymore these days.
But in reality it's still around today, and more than 200,000 cases appear every year
around the world.
Its official name is Hansen's Disease, after the scientist who discovered its causative
agent, Mycobacterium Leprae.
This bacterium spreads mostly through direct contact with saliva or mucus, but also through
certain animals such as armadillos, which have an ideal body temperature to keep the
bacteria alive.
As the bacterium reproduces slowly, symptoms could take 5 to 20 years to develop.
Although not deadly, the disease can have serious implications, especially for the victim's
appearance.
Left untreated, the bacteria spreads through the skin and peripheral nerves, manifesting
in pale and red lesions and sores as well as numbness in the extremities.
Because they can no longer feel pain in their hands and feet, people with leprosy are much
more prone to disabling injuries or secondary infections, which would ultimately require
amputation.
Because of their appearance lepers are often stigmatized in society.
Contrary to widespread belief, leprosy isn't very infectious, and those unlucky enough
to contract it often go years before seeking treatment.
In fact, 95% of the population is immune to it.
And in the unlikely event you do contract Leprosy, there's already a multi-drug treatment
available to cure you from it.
Still, hundreds of thousands of new cases pop up every year, mostly in subtropical regions
of Africa, Asia, Central and South America.
The poor are particularly susceptible, as lack of nutritious food, sanitation and medical
care leads to the spread of the disease.
As a result, leprosy is much more common in developing nations, such as India, which is
home to 60% of all infected people.
In the US, there are roughly 200 cases a year.
Number 2: Bubonic Plague Otherwise known as Black Death, the Bubonic
Plague swept in during the 14th Century.
It is caused by Yersinia Pestis, a bacterium carried by fleas on small animals that causes
egg sized swellings on peoples' bodies called buboes.
Buboes mean that you have no more than a week to live, and even being near someone with
them could pass them on to you.
The worst apparent presentation of the disease is when the nose, fingers and toes become
black and rot away from gangrene.
The plague started in China and India before spreading to Europe.
It killed between 75 and 200 million people, nearly half of Europe, and a sizeable chunk
of the entire world's 450 million person population of the time.
The disease seemed to have died down with the improvement of quality of life and proper
sanitation, leading to lesser contact with vermin carrying the disease.
Also, the discovery of antibiotics provided a definitive treatment for the bacteria-borne
infection.
A few rare isolated cases would pop up every now and then, but recent years have seen these
numbers grow.
In July 2014, Chinese authorities had the entire city of Yumen locked down after a local
man caught the plague and died.
In August the same year, a plague epidemic erupted in Madagascar, and the still ongoing
outbreak has killed 40 and infected more than a hundred so far.
Similarly, the number of isolated cases in the United States is rising.
An average of 7 cases were reported in the US per year, but in 2015, that number went
up to 15.
Number 1: Cholera Cholera was once considered a deadly disease,
and once outbreaks occurred it had the potential to infect and kill large numbers in a short
time.
Caused by the bacterium Vibrio Cholera, the disease kills by causing severe dehydration
through watery diarrhea and vomiting.
A patient with severe cholera can lose up to 1 liter of fluids every hour.
It starts with mere symptoms of dehydration, but once they lose up to 8 liters which is
20% of total body fluids, the major organs and systems begin to shut down.
Untreated, the patient could die in less than a day.
Every drop of fluid from their excrement is brimming with bacteria, showing just how easily
the disease could spread from just one case, to hundreds or thousands.
The first recorded outbreak began in the Indian subcontinent in the early 1800s.
As trade routes and travel became more widespread, the disease made its way to Europe, North
America, and the rest of the world, killing tens of millions of people in the last two
centuries.
But through the advancements of healthcare, such as the development of a cholera vaccine,
and proper sanitation, filtering, and chlorination of water supplies, the disease no longer became
much of a threat.
However, the disease seems to be making its way back.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the country experienced the worst cholera epidemic in
recent history.
Over the course of 2 years 7000 have died and hundreds of thousands more have been infected,
and even spread to neighboring Cuba and Dominican Republic.
This is made even worse by Haiti's tropical climate that is conducive to the bacteria,
and cases spike every year after rainy seasons.
Studies have also shown that global warming plays a big role in Cholera's resurgence.
Researchers found that as surface temperatures of the oceans increased, so did the number
of lethal bacteria found in the collected plankton samples.