|  | Public Health Safety | Public Health

Common Diseases in Humans

Hundreds of diseases are present in the world. Many diseases are transmitted by vector-borne arthropods, such as mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. Other diseases can be transmitted from animal to human, or from person to person. Contracting a disease can be based on lifestyle (e.g., sexual practices), being in a locality that has a higher incidence to disease, whether you have a compromised immune system, whether you have been immunized and whether you come into contact with an animal infected with a disease.

  1. Sexaully Transmitted Diseases

    • Sexually transmitted diseases afflict millions of people worldwide. HIV has infected nearly 39.5 million worldwide, with an increase in numbers in some countries. Chlamydia, another STD, is most common in sexually active teenagers, with the disease being most prominent in women. Many other common STDs include gonorrhea, hepatitis and the human papillomavirus (HPV). STDs are spread as a result of unsafe sexual practices and by having many sexual partners.

    Malaria

    • Malaria is caused by the transmission of mosquitoes, and can be a life-threatening disease. In 2006, 247 million people became infected with the disease, with 1 million dying. Though malaria is a preventable disease, nearly half of the entire world's population is at risk of contracting malaria. Symptoms of the disease appear up to 2 weeks after infection, and if not treated, the disease can lead to death.

    African Trypanosomiasis

    • African trypanosomiasis, or the sleeping sickness, is another vector-borne disease. Usually, the disease is caught by tsetse fly. The tsetse fly transmits a type of protozoa known as Trypansoma when it bites a human or animal. Sleeping sickness only occurs in parts of Africa. Sleeping sickness afflicts millions of people within 36 countries of Africa.

    Dengue

    • Dengue fever is the result of being bitten by an infected mosquito. If infected with the disease, the result can lead to dengue haemorrhagic fever. Most cases of dengue are found in tropical and sub-tropical climates, such as the Phillipines and Thailand. Nearly 50 million people are infected yearly by dengue fever. More than 100 countries worldwide are afflicted with the disease.

    Tuberculosis

    • Tuberculosis is a disease that spreads easily. The disease can spread through the air by way of infected particles within sneezes, coughs or spit. One-third of the world's population is already infected with the disease. More than a million people die yearly as a result of the disease, and people who have HIV are at a higher risk of developing tuberculosis as a result of a compromised immune system.

    Factors

    • There are many factors that contribute to the emergence of diseases in the world. This can include drug-resistance to diseases (such as malaria), insecticides, deforestation, encroachment into uninhabited lands and poor sanitation. The increase in population also has increased the spread of disease as a result of uncontrolled urbanization, which leads to the increased opportunity of transmission of diseases.

Public Health - Related Articles