Transcript The Ethics behind a Country’s Response and Responsibility

The Ethics behind a Country’s
Response and Responsibility to
Dealing with Emerging Diseases
Wolf, Steven
AP Biology
Period 3
June 11
Emerging Diseases
• Def: a disease that has appeared in a
population for the first time, or that may
have existed previously but is rapidly
increasing in incidence or geographic
range (“Emerging Diseases,” World Health
Organization).
• Examples: AIDS/HIV, Ebola, Avian Flu
AIDS/HIV
• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
• Targets and destroys Helper T cells
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and CD4 cells (immunodeficiency)
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome) - final stage of HIV
All over the world
sexually transmitted infection (STI)
Hard to treat because rapidly mutating
Prevent transmission
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Abstinence
Condoms
HIV Tests
Medication to stop transmission across
the placenta
Ebola
• Common name for severe hemorrhagic
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fever
Caused by a filovirus- loop
Extremely fatal (up to 90%) fatality
Causes sever hemorrhagic bleeding
Transmission: by blood in humans
Disease spreads quickly in poor African
countries where they reuse needles
Treatment
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Isolation (barrier nursing techniques)
proper hydration & nutrition
watch blood pressure
no known vaccine/cure
• Several types, could still be mutating
(ex: Zaire, Reston)
Avian Flu
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formally known as avian influenza, may hear
“bird flu”
in domestic birds, ex: chickens, turkey, duck,
may cause sickness and death
Transmission in birds, contact with:
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feces
Shedding
Saliva
Other excretions
sometimes low fatality, but could reach 90-100
percent in 48 hours
H5N1 most deadly of avian influenza viruses in
birds
There have been cases of transmission to
humans through close contact with
contaminated specimens or birds
Inefficient spread from human to human
More than half of people infected with disease
have died, because little immune response
currently there is a vaccine approved by FDA for
one type of H5N1 virus
added to US stockpile, not to public
will be distributed in case of pandemic
Question 1: What responsibility does a country
have to find a cure for an emerging disease?
• Medical testing on animals
– Pro:
• Humans don’t get harmed
• Testing on living being over time advantage over computer
simulations
– Con:
• Do not show similarities between humans and animals
because differences are to great (ex: Phen Fen)
• Computer programs are good alternatives
– Pro: Because best to save human lives (comps. are
not a replacement for living specimens; living
specimens code comps.)
Question 1: What responsibility does a country
have to find a cure for an emerging disease?
• Medical Testing on Humans
– Pro:
• Rigid testing procedure
• Humans show side effects after long term use
• Informed consent
– Con
• The size of reward to finding cure often makes
researchers ignore human subjects (ex: Tuskegee
Syphilis Study, 1932-1972)
Question 2: Once a cure is found, should it be
given to other countries?
• Pro:
– Gain information on spread of disease and effectiveness of cure
– Strengthen diplomatic ties
– Supporters:
• Con
• Me
– May run out of treatment for own country
– carrying capacity acting on population growth, don’t interfere w/
nature
– Its up to them to make there own stockpile of drugs
– Supporters:
• Mr. Fazio
Question 3: What responsibility does a country has
to help its own country ?
• South African inmates
hunger strike
– do they need to provide
HIV testing and treatment
– Criminals vs. citizens
• Myanmar refuses help
from other countries
– May 2 cyclone devastates
Irrawaddy Delta
– Until May 26, 2008, military
Junta refused help
– Would they accept help in
an epidemic?