6 dangerous diseases that have returned in the last 10 years
Deadly diseases are making a comeback across the globe as more children go unvaccinated and the planet gets infected.
From tick-borne diseases to syphilis to gout, here are 6 dreaded diseases that are spreading around the world again.
6 PHOTOS
1. Measles is spreading around the world. In 2018 alone, more than 140,000 people died from vaccine-preventable diseases. Early estimates for 2019 suggest that the death toll has risen sharply since then.
In 2018, nearly 10 million people became infected with the virus, and most of the deaths were in children under the age of 5 who were not vaccinated.
2. The plague has also returned to its worst form. In November, at least 3 people in China were infected with pneumonic plague, which is the most dangerous and the only one that can be transmitted from person to person.
Plague, whether bubonic or pneumonic, comes from the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which killed an estimated 25 million Europeans in the 1300s and is still endemic to the western United States.
3. Antibiotic-resistant infections are also deadly and on the rise.
For example, tuberculosis is one of the top 10 deaths in the world, and hundreds of thousands of cases of bacterial diseases become resistant to treatment every year.
3. Antibiotic-resistant infections are also deadly and on the rise.
Cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia have recently skyrocketed in the US, with deadly consequences.
5. Cholera is back.
Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated, and scientists suspect it will have a wider range in the coming years as ocean waters warm and algae bloom, which breeds the bacteria that causes cholera to spread around the globe.
6. It's not exactly deadly on its own, but it does hurt a lot. Gout has also returned as more people indulge in foods like beer, bacon, and beef.
Often referred to as the "disease of kings", gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that can occur due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Keywords: Dangerous diseases | Illness | Tragedy | Death | Health problems | People | Vaccination