While modern medicine has made some great advances, deadly diseases still exist within the world. A few have some surprising statistics.
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and strokes, amount to around 42% of all deaths that occur in the United States each year. Fatality isn’t limited to the elderly. Heart disease claims a significant amount of lives in patients age 35 and up. Around 1 million Americans will die from cardiovascular disease every year.
Lower Respiratory Infections
Lower respiratory infections include diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis. These infections are marked by fever, weakness, and severe coughing. Respiratory infections claim the lives of around 4 million individuals each year, or 6.9% of deaths worldwide. Because of this, these infections are still classified as the deadliest of all infectious diseases.
HIV/AIDS
Unsurprisingly. HIV and AIDS claim the lives of around 3 million humans every year. The infection rate for HIV/AIDS is around 11 times that high. Somewhere around 34.9million people annually contract HIV. Untreated, HIV will evolve into the AIDS virus, severely weakening the infected person. However, recent advancements in immune system boosting medications mean that those with HIV and AIDS are no longer sentenced to an early grave.
Influenza
Influenza, commonly known as “the flu,” is a virus that attacks the respiratory tract. Up to 36,000 people die from the flu every year just in the United States alone. While this infection is less of a common health threat in recent years, improper treatment can lead to fatality. Influenza, untreated, commonly leads to pneumonia and other serious health complications.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea, gone untreated, can lead to death. This condition alone annually accounts for around 2 million deaths worldwide of children under 5 years of age. Diarrhea can lead to the contraction of various infectious diseases by way of transferring fecal matter into the mouth, eyes, or invisible cuts in the body. Severe cases of diarrhea and dysentery in children also result in intense dehydration. Gone untreated, the lack of essential fluids in the body can cause quick death.
Malnutrition
Obesity, vitamin deficiency, or mineral deficiency are all forms of malnutrition. This condition doesn’t refer to lack of food, but rather a lack of a good variety of foods with essential nutrients. Known as “bad eating,” this condition accounts for 53% of deaths each year in children under the age of 5. Vitamin A deficiency is the most common cause of malnutrition in children. This essential vitamin helps prevent blindness and death by diarrhea or diarrhea induced disease.
Tuberculosis
The World Health Organization has deemed that one-third of the earth’s population, around two billion people, are infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. TB is airborne, spreading through wheezing, coughing, sneezing, and breathing. Although many fight off infection immediately, the bacteria remains dormant within the body and can emerge later on. Eight million cases arise every year, with 3 million deaths occurring as a result of TB or TB-related complications.
There are a various deadly diseases in the world that still claim an unsettling number of lives. However, advances in healthcare are working towards increasing longevity for humans everywhere.