2012-09-13

Socionomic headline of the week: An epidemic of epidemics

Does the West Nile outbreak signal an epidemic of viral epidemics? Yes and no.
The outbreaks of so many viruses in recent weeks, years and decades — including hantavirus, swine flu, bird flu, SARS, ebola and the great global scourge of HIV — raise an obvious question: Are we seeing an epidemic of viral epidemics?

The experts give a complicated, nuanced answer: yes and no. The bottom line is that virologists are hardly in a panic.

“I think it would be over-exaggeration to think that there are millions of viruses ready to jump on us and bring us back to the 14th century,” says Anthony Fauci, director of the infectious-disease center at the National Institutes of Health. “That would be looking over a ledge that isn’t there.”

...Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s division of vector-borne diseases, said this year’s West Nile season is on pace for a record number of severe infections, such as brain inflammation. These infections are considered the best indicator of the epidemic’s scope because they are most consistently reported to health authorities. Most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes don’t develop symptoms, and their cases are not reported.

Meanwhile, thousands of Yosemite National Park visitors have been warned that they may have been exposed this summer to rodent-borne hantavirus. Of the eight people known to have contracted the virus, three have died.

The appearance of another rare but potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus, one that causes Eastern equine encephalitis, has spurred Massachusetts officials to ask residents in some communities to cancel evening outdoor events until the first hard frost. And two men in northwest Missouri were hospitalized in 2009 with a virus never before seen and possibly carried by ticks. Scientists named it the Heartland virus, after the hospital where it was identified.
During periods of negative social mood, when people are more likely to feel stressed and depressed, they are more prone to illness. Human systems also weaken, making people more susceptible to mistakes and errors. Warfare and social breakdowns spread disease and weaken healthcare systems. People also become more fearful and worry about diseases more than before, hence the greater media attention.

No comments:

Post a Comment