For my third topic idea I decided to look at Ebola from a global standpoint. I found that the virus started in Guinea in December of 2013 and then spread to Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Since these countries were affected, all of the ports into and out of them were shut down. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is a huge problem since these countries make the majority of their money through their exports. Since they can't export anything that also means that they can't import anything. All of these countries import things such as food or medications and without them it could be detrimental to the health of the people there. With a lack of open ports in these countries it is very difficult to get help into and then out of them. With no help for these countries the problem will only get worse.
Since Ebola is a hot topic right now I did some research on it. Ebola is transmitted from human to human contact, but fruit bats are the original host. Once a person is infected they can pass the disease on to someone else via direct contact with bodily fluids, organs, blood, secretions and contact with surfaces that have been contaminated. Once coming in contact with the virus symptoms can occur between 2-22 days and will first appear as a fever, headache, sore throat, and/or muscle pain. The next set of symptoms to appear are vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney function, bleeding gums, bloody stools, and/or internal and external bleeding. Some of these symptoms are similar to diseases such as malaria and typhoid fever, so there are more test that need to be done in order to determine if you have to ebola virus. The ebola virus has been determined to be an international health emergency, which means that everyone should be informed about it. Although there is not too much that we can do to cure it we can do our part by staying informed and knowing how to handle it if it crosses our paths. If more is not done to stop the spread of ebola then it is only a matter of time until the number of people infected increases.
Today I started researching topic ideas and I came across waterborne diseases. This is a problem world wide and account for over 3 million deaths each year. Waterborne illnesses are a big problem in developing countries that do not have access to clean water. When these countries get hit with illnesses such as cholera, typhoid fever, and many other diseases over 4 million people are affect and half of them die. Sadly 90 percent of these deaths are children under the age of five.These disease can be prevented simply by having access to clean water. You may be thinking, "well why should I care? This problem doesn't affect me." If you are thinking that then you are right, it does not directly affect you, but put yourself in their shoes. If you, your friends, and/or your family are dying every day and there is nothing that you can do to stop it, wouldn't you want some one to help? Would you want to put an end to these deaths are caused because of lack of clean water? I know that I would. The truth is there are ways to prevent these diseases, but now the question is how do we get these supplies to developing countries and all of the other countries that are affected.
Hello! My name is Rachel Cruise. I am a senior at Rutland High School who is participating in both the STEM and Global Studies programs. I do not have an exact topic at this time, but my broad topic is going to be global infectious diseases. This blog will serve for anyone who is interest in this topic, or who is curious about STEM and global studies to follow my progress.
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