Learning about Diseases

The World Health Organization has a wealth of information about mortality, disability burdens, life expectancies, demographics, and other topics related to environmental health. You can find massive amounts of data in table form by country, disease, and death rates at www.who.int/whosis

Go to the information about specific diseases at www.who.int/health-topics/idindex.hum. Look up the current status of Ebola and Leishmaniasis, and compare them to a disease that occurs closer to where you live (consult fig. 8.4 in this chapter). What organisms cause these diseases? What is their current distribution and prevalence? What environmental and social factors contribute to their spread? What treatment (if any) exists for these diseases, and how might they be prevented? See links on this web page for the newsletter Action Against Infection for up-to-date information about efforts to stop the spread of contagious diseases.