Transcript Medicine in the Modern World Continued

By Mr Day
Downloaded from SchoolHistory.co.uk
Medicine in the Modern World
Continued…
Lesson Objectives
• To examine the role of the World Health
Organisation in fighting disease and ill
health.
• To look at and identify modern issues in
medicine.
• WHO's goal is the attainment by all peoples of
the highest possible level of health
• The World Health Organization is the United
Nations specialized agency for health. It was
established on 7 April 1948.
• Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a
state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity.
• WHO is governed by 192 Member States
through the World Health Assembly
• 4 February 2005
South Asia slashes polio cases by nearly
half.
• 26 January 2005
700 000 people living with AIDS in
developing countries now receiving
treatment
• 13 January 2005
African health leaders vow to meet polio
eradication goal
Despite spread of virus to Sudan and Saudi
Arabia, ministers optimistic about wiping out
paralysing disease
• One of the WHO’s aims is to encourage
vaccination programmes on a global scale.
• Today 8 out of 10 children in the world have
been vaccinated against the killer diseases.
Modern Issues Concerning
Medicine Today
• Doctors discover new HIV strain By Marc Santora and Lawrence
K. Altman The New York Times Saturday, February 12, 2005
–
– Virus is resistant to nearly all drugs
–
– A previously unknown strain of HIV that is highly resistant
to virtually all known drugs and appears to lead to the
rapid onset of AIDS was detected in a man last week,
New York health officials said Friday.
– While the extent of the spread of the disease is unknown,
officials said the situation was alarming.
– "We consider this a major potential problem," said Dr.
Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the New York City
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The
department issued an alert to all hospitals and doctors in
the city to be on the lookout for the new strain.
Modern Issues Concerning
Medicine Today
– While HIV strains that are resistant to some drug
treatments have been on the rise in recent years
throughout the United States, city officials said
this case was unique and worrisome for several
reasons.
– First, they said, the strain of the disease was
resistant to three of the four classes of drugs
used to treat HIV from the moment the patient
got sick. of drugs.
– But the resistance comes in combination with its
rapid transformation into AIDS. Each of those
things has been seen before, but never together.
– In this case, the patient developed AIDS from 2
to 10 months after being infected. Usually, it
takes 10 years for the average person infected
with HIV to develop AIDS.
Superbugs
• One serious issue that has affected modern
medicine if the over use of antibiotics.
• Many people often insist that their doctors
prescribe them antibiotic to cure whatever
illnesses they believe they have.
• In the short term they may benefit from a ‘cure’.
• However there are serious long term
implications.
Superbugs
• With the over use of antibiotics bacteria are
developing immunity.
• Stronger antibiotics are needed all the time.
• Farmers also use antibiotics in animal feed to
prevent illness in their livestock herds.
• Many scientists are concerned that they are
running out of weapons to fight bacteria. They
warn of the danger that these new superbugs
pose.
Superbugs in the News
• Super-Resistant Superbugs
May 2, 2004
• CBS) It's been 60 years since Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered a
drug called penicillin, the first antibiotic.
Since then, doctors have prescribed the drugs to cure everything
from pneumonia to scarlet fever.
But now, scientists are sounding the alarm that we have been
overusing antibiotics - and that the germs have figured out ways to
become resistant to them. Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports.
Infections we thought we had conquered once and for all are coming
back because of a new breed of germs that doctors call "superbugs" - bacteria that are resistant to almost all antibiotics.
The latest culprit is called MRSA, a staph bacteria that triggers
infections so virulent they can - and have - turned deadly within days.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome)
• AIDS is probably the most serious health danger
facing the world today.
• A massive amount of time, money and research
has been spent trying to find a cure, however
there is still no cure or magic bullet.
• As with epidemics that took place hundreds of
years ago e.g. (Black Death) certain groups of
people have been blamed or made a scapegoat.
• Aids has been blamed on Africa and
homosexuals - some people claimed it was a
punishment from God .
The Fight Against AIDS
• The HIV virus has been found to cause AIDS.
• Many drugs have been developed that slow HIV
down from developing AIDS although there is
evidence that other strains of HIV are
developing.
• Up to 2001 17.5 million people have died of
aids.
• In 2005 the number of people living with AIDS
was 37.2 million.
Genetic Engineering
• With advances in medical technology scientists
have been able to study cells, genes and
chromosomes in microscopic detail.
• Scientists are now able to alter or destroy
damaged or diseased cells. This has become
known as genetic engineering.
• This is very controversial work. Critics have
argued about the creation of designer babies.
• Cloning is now a possibility. Clones could be
used to produce organs or tissue. This raises
many ethical issues.