Infectious diseases are everywhere, and according to Smart Global
Health they're blamed for 16% of global deaths each year. Breaking these
deaths down based on data from the World Health Organization, these
include close to 4 million respiratory infection deaths annually (e.g.,
pneumonia), malaria -- which can claim up to 3 million lives per year --
HIV and AIDS, which account for roughly 2.5 million deaths, and
tuberculosis, which is the primary cause of death for about 1.7 million
people annually.
Right now the disease everyone's paying attention to is
Ebola, a virus that presents with flu-like systems but can have
serious, and often fatal, consequences. But putting things into context
Ebola hasn't become a huge global killer. Thus far the death toll has
crossed 4,000. This is a saddening figure, but it pales in comparison to
the annual death toll from HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis, for example.
180 million have this disease, but few know it!
There is, however, another deadly disease in existence that, based on
data from the World Health Organization, affects an estimated 180
million people, or 3% of the world's population. Though it may not be as
lethal as Ebola in terms of how quickly it kills it victims, this
global disease can, in its chronic state, lead to liver damage, liver
disease, liver cancer, or even death. Within just the U.S., it's a
disease that claims 15,000 lives annually.
Read more... Labels: global hepatitis C epidemic