ARTICLE 1: DISEASES

What are Diseases?

Diseases are one of the factors threatening us from having a properly functional life.
Throughout our history, epidemics have caused the extinction of whole populations. Over the
last century, man has discovered many microorganisms that cause diseases in humans
and animals, and has learned how to protect himself from them, by either prevention or
treatment.
A disease is an illness that affects the body or mind. When you have a disease, you do not
feel as healthy. Some diseases, like the common cold, come and go quickly. Others last
longer.
Some diseases can lead to death.
Some diseases can be passed on from one person to another. These are called infectious
diseases. One way to stop the spread of these diseases is to fight the germs that cause
them. Another way is to stop contact between people during the time that the disease can be
spread.
Other illnesses are caused by how people live, by conditions they are born with, or by hazards
around them. Those are called non-infectious diseases. Heart disease, asthma, and diabetes
are examples of non-infectious diseases. In order to reduce the risk of getting these
diseases, they must try to change how they live or decrease the hazards around them. For
example, people can reduce their risk of lung cancer by not smoking. Heart disease can be
prevented by eating a healthy diet and staying at a healthy weight.
Death due to disease is called death by natural causes. There are four main types of
disease: pathogenic disease, deficiency disease, hereditary disease, and physiological
disease. Diseases can also be classified as communicable and non-communicable
disease.(www.LittleWorksheets.com)
According to recent statistics from the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), the
number of people suffering from serious diseases has increased when compared to ten years
ago. This raises the questions:
Why has this happened? And what can be done to stop it?
The expectation was that this number would decrease thanks to advances in medical science
which have helped in the fight against illnesses.
Anemia, for example, is now a treatable disorder but this alone is not enough to get rid of the
larger problem of heart disease which now affects over 26.5 million people in America and is
largely caused by poor diet.

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On the other hand modern medicine has proved very effective in combating meningitis, with
new treatments offered for both viral and bacterial versions of the disease. Polio, which was
one of the major concerns of the last century, is close to being eradicated with only a few
outbreaks in certain parts of the developing world.
There are of course many diseases which remain incurable such as acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which although is far from the levels of near epidemic
of the 1980's remains a major concern for world healthcare. Modern medicine has developed
a way to treat for AIDS but has yet to find a cure. Another incurable illness is influenza (flu),
which although affecting over 10% of the population of the western world is only treatable
proactively in the form of a vaccination. So while medical advances have made it possible to
treat, cure or even eradicate illness there are still many conditions which remain dangerous.
When thinking about why the number of people suffering from serious diseases is so high,
you have to look both at the current state of medical knowledge and also trends in patients'
lifestyles. The number of reported sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) has increased
steadily over the past 50 years partly as a result of acceptance of the diseases and partly as the
young generation tends to take more risks than their parents did.
Chlamydia is a good example of this. Figures released by the World Health Organization
(WHO) indicate that there was a 7% rise in the number of cases of Chlamydia in the US in
2012 when compared to the previous year. The increase was highest among teens, who may
not even realize that they have an infectious disease or are too embarrassed to report it
straightaway which may in-turn lead to infertility.
The answer to the question "What can be done to stop the trend of increasing levels of
disease?" may be as simple as education. If people knew the risks associated with their
current lifestyle, they may be encouraged to make some change which would spare them
future illness. A great example of this can be seen in the European approach to reducing lung
cancer rates by running public information adverts on the dangers of smoking or on a smaller
scale, in programs to educate children on the causes of diabetes and how to avoid contracting
it.
While it may not be possible for medicine to fight against every disease, the number of
terminal diseases is decreasing and if this is combined with education on how to lead a
healthier life - the future looks good. (English for medicine and health care-
https://www.medicalenglish.com/-)