Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is normally transmitted by a bite from a tick. "In the United States, Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is carried primarily by deer ticks." People who mainly come in contact with this disease are people who live or spend time in grassy or wooded areas.

This condition is found everywhere in the world except Antarctica and some areas have a higher prevalence compared with others. In the United States, Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease and has been reported in almost all states with a higher prevalence in the coastal northeast, Mid-Atlantic States, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and northern California. Lyme disease is extremely common in Europe, and it is much more prevalent compared with the United States and Canada.

The early symptoms of this disease include a rash and flu-like symptoms; but if this disease is left untreated more severe symptoms occur such as joint pain, neurological problems, cognitive defects, and heart rhythm irregularities. During the early stages of the disease, oral antibiotics can be used to treat it. If the disease involves the central nervous system, treatment with an intravenous antibiotic for 14 to 28 days may be needed. The best way to prevent from getting this disease is to wear long pants and sleeves in grassy and wooded areas, use insect repellents, always check children and dogs for ticks, and remove ticks as soon as you as you see them to avoid the tick from biting you.



Lyme People: Lyme Disease is Found Worldwide (http://www.lymepeople.com/lyme-disease-is-found-worldwide/)

http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/arthritis-lyme-disease

http://theconference.ca/the-spread-of-lyme-disease

http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Europe–Africa–Australia–Asia-And-America—Lyme-Disease-Is-In-The-Rise/366251#.UIDFeO-LKq

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lyme-disease/DS00116/DSECTION=causes

Naegleria fowleri

Naegleria fowleri is known as the "brain eating amoeba" because of the damage that it does to the brain when it enters someone's body. Naegleria fowleri causes a detrimental infection to the brain known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Naegleria fowleri is found worldwide in warm fresh waters such as lakes, rivers and hot springs. This amoeba mainly enters the body through the nose when a person comes in contact with contaminated water. The people that seem to become infected the most are people who dive into lakes, rivers, or any freshwater places.

Naegleria fowleri is is a rare disease that only seems to occur from July to September when most people are enjoying the summer weather and swimming in fresh waters. "Over 60% of U.S. cases are in children age 13 or younger. About 80% of cases are in males." Even though this is a worldwide disease, the majority of the reported cases happen in the United States and also millions of people are exposed to the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, but only a handful actually become sick.

Naegleria fowleri normally eat bacteria to survive; but it is known as the "brain eating amoeba" because it feeds on a person's brain for a food source since there is no bacteria in the body for it to feed upon. "Studies suggest that N. fowleri amoebas are attracted to the chemicals that nerve cells use to communicate with one another. Once in the nose, the amoebas travel through the olfactory nerve (the nerve connected with sense of smell) into the frontal lobe of the brain." The symptoms that come along with PAM include: severe frontal headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations, and coma. Most people who start to develop these symptoms die within 5-7 days. This disease is very hard to treat and there is no known medicine that cures the patient by itself; instead there a range a drugs that doctors combine to try and cure the patient. "Overall, the outlook for people who get this disease is poor, although early diagnosis and treatment might increase the chances for survival."


http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/pathogen.html
http://www.webmd.com/brain/brain-eating-amoeba?page=2

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a viral infection that effects the liver and is caused by the Hepatitis B virus. "Worldwide, an estimated two billion people have been infected with the hepatitis B virus and more than 240 million have chronic (long-term) liver infections. About 600,000 people die every year due to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B. It is a major global health problem and the most serious type of viral hepatitis. It can cause chronic liver disease and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer."

Hepatitis B is transmitted by direct blood to blood contact, semen or vaginal fluid. In developing countries, Hepatitis B is transmitted from mother to baby at birth, early childhood infections, unsafe injection practices, unsafe blood transfusions, and unprotected sexual contact.

Hepatitis B does not show any symptoms in the acute infection phase. Once the virus reaches the chronic phase then some symptoms may show such as yellowing of the skin and eyes, dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. There is no cure for Hepatitis B but there is a vaccine given in three to four doses used to prevent it. "The complete vaccine series induces protective antibody levels in more than 95% of infants, children and young adults. Protection lasts at least 20 years and is possibly lifelong."

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/

Rachel Carson reponsible for the death of millions of African children

It is always difficult to make decisions that involve the safety and health of our children; but when it comes down to developing countries such as Africa, you really have to weigh out the pros and the cons. Since malaria is a disease that kills many people in Africa each year, I would have to disagree with Rachel Carson's view on insecticides. To every advantage, there is a disadvantage, and when it comes to Africa, using insecticides, it seems  would actually save more lives. Insecticides would actually be very beneficial to the population because it would kill the mosquitoes that are causing malaria and killing millions.

As Americans, we do not really have mosquitoes that contain malaria that are killing millions of people in our population so maybe hiding under a mosquito net may be more beneficial for Americans. But as I said, to every advantage there is disadvantage and in America our biggest concern is the health of our children and the environment. Yes, insecticides can be used as a killer for mosquitoes and other bugs, but since mosquitoes are not deadly in America, then excluding insecticides from our environment would be more beneficial for Americans.

As a parent in America, I would feel its best to use less insecticides that contain DDT. Since malaria isn't very common in America, then  I do not want to harm the health of my children to help kill off mosquitoes. I am not saying that we will be able to save our children from every danger in the environment but I think that we can save them from things that can be prevented.

Rachel Carson's contribution to the environmental movement

Rachel Carson, known as the "nun of nature", was a strong, intelligent woman that made a big impact on the environmental movement in the 19th century. In her book, Silent Spring, she emphasized the use of synthetic pesticides, known as DDT and how they could be a danger to the society. Carson pointed out that yes, pesticides do kill bugs but that they also harmed the birds and fish population, which in return could harm the children and the human population. Carson's publishing of Silent Spring played a major impact on public policy by leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. In return, the EPA banned most domestic uses of DDT in 1972.

When Carson had published her book, she was often criticized by people in the chemistry industry. Supporters of pesticides felt that Carson was showing an incomplete picture of pesticides and that she was showing the more harmful side instead of the beneficial side. An executive of the American Cyanamide Company complained, "if man were to faithfully follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the Dark Ages, and the insects and diseases and vermin would once again inherit the earth."

Rachel Carson was known as a conservationist, an environmentalist, and an author. Along with Silent Spring she wrote Under the Sea-Wind, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea. She had a hard life growing up but she still was determined to make an impact on the environment. She not only had to fight the critics on her research on pesticides but she also was battling breast cancer as well which led her to her death at the age of 56. Silent Spring and Rachel Carson definitely played a major part on the modern environmental health movement. As Al Gore explains, Silent Spring "brought environmental issues to the attention not just of industry and government; it brought them to the public, and put our democracy itself on the side of saving the Earth".




Benjamin, Beth. "Rachel Carson: Giving a Voice to the Silent Spring."
http://www.students.haverford.edu/wmbweb/medbios/bbcarson.html. 1996

Gore, Al. Introduction to Silent Spring.
http://www.greenwichnj.org/WWWProjects/Silent%20Spring/Silent%20Spring%20text/Al%20Gore.html. 1994.