Originally posted by jamie83When was there EVER an epidemic of any disease in the U.S.?
Do you have any clue about American history? Ever taken a guided tour of an 1800's cemetery? Take a guided tour of the old graves in New Orleans,
Savannah, any old American city.
Diphtheria used to kill hundreds of thousands every year in America (and our population was much much lower then).
Yellow Fever epidemnics used to wipe out HUGE amounts of the population in many areas, some years it was fine, some years it would kill 10-20% of the
population in some towns.
Measles affects 20 mil around the world each year, only about 150 cases show up in the U.S. because of vaccinations.
Polio was an indirect product OF improved sanitation. Prior to clean, sanitized water supplies virtually every human was exposed to polio, the
mothers gave the immunity to their babies, the babies were exposed at such a young age with their mothers immunity they fought off the infection
without dire results. When water supplies became sanitary and people were infected for the first time as older children or adults the results were
dire.
www.learnnc.org...
The polio outbreaks of the 50’s were caused by generations that had NOT had exposure, and suddenly people were crippled as a result.
These diseases is still alive and well in Africa, India, and many other third world places. They are not gone, and you can bet they are crossing our
borders all the time.
Oh and while your at it…you think American kids are so clean and sanitary? Here is a charming article; millions of American kids have worms too:
in.reuters.com...
They include ascariasis, the most common human worm infection. It is caused by a parasitic worm that lives in the intestine, and infected just under 4
million people in 1974 according to the last survey, in the South and Appalachia.
Toxocariasis, a roundworm parasite transmitted in dog droppings, infected up 2.8 million poor black children living in inner cities, the South and
Appalachia, Hotez said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates these roundworms, which can cause intestinal illness and
blindness, infect up to 14 percent of the U.S. population.
Strongyloidiasis is caused by a threadworm that lives throughout the body and infects 68,000 to 100,000 people. It may cause a hyper-immune reaction
in some people.
Cysticercosis caused by the pork tapeworm and giardiasis, a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled parasite, are also common, Hotez said.
One threat to babies is cytomegalovirus, which infects 27,002 newborn annually, causing deafness and mental retardation.
"It's amazing what we tolerate," Hotez said. He noted the United States spends $1 billion a year preparing for outbreaks of diseases that have not
occurred, including smallpox, anthrax and avian influenza.
"But these (other) diseases are occurring among voiceless people," he said. "It's an unintended form of racism in a sense. We need to make these
disease household words."
Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, infects as many as 8 to 11 million people in Latin America and may become a U.S. threat,
Hotez said. "In Louisiana, almost 30 percent of the armadillos and 38 percent of the opossums are infected with T. cruzi, and a case of Chagas
disease was recently reported in post-Katrina New Orleans," he wrote.
But as stated above, as long as MOST kids are vaccinated these diseases will remain under control. If you want to risk your kids life, then that is
your business.
[edit on 6-7-2008 by Sonya610]