Short cuts and There Distastrous Affects

I'm not in a good mood either.

I went to Glasgow, ate bad food that came recommended, was left to drink with known criminals by an old "friend", and dealt a carton full of sickening cigarettes by an ex-con. All whilst attempting to be the most respectable citizen of a "democracy" I could be.

I think the disease of human self-interest and laziness reaches further than the medical profession, it's relevant corruption and the pharmaceutical industry. I am pointing the finger at hypnosis, child prostitution, slavery and the drugs industry when I say that I will never ever say "do not touch me ever again" again.

Is that understood?

for the attention of the English Government, there is a known child abuser and corrupt teacher in a house in Hackney, and she's not me.

I am professionally very much part of this area of research, and I have been for a long time.

Just for startes, here's a brief list of some (hardly all) major fecal-oral pathogens/diseases, along with which ones have vaccines.

Polio (great vaccine)
Hepatitis A (great vaccine)
Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)
Salmonellosis
Typhoid fever (a specific kind of salmonellosis) (fairly good vaccine)
Amebiasis, including amoebic dysentery
Cholera (ineffective vaccine)
E. coli infections incl. enterotoxigenic, enterohemorrhagic, and enteropathogenic
Rotavirus (new vaccine, seems great)
Norwalk virus
Enteroviruses (of which polio is one)
Ascariasis
Whipworm

And there are other diseases caused by fecal contamination, such as schistosomiasis and hookworm, but the infection is transcutaneous and not oral.

Why do I bring all this up? Because many good people, many organizations, many billions of dollars, many international health initiatives, have been unable to control ANY of these diseases to a reasonable degree in poor countries. The only exception is polio, and the reason is simple -- it's the only one that is part of a long vaccine campaign. Fortunately, polio is one of the worst of these illnesses.

I trained in infectious diseases at Harvard, and there is a major cholera research institute there (based at Massachussets General Hospital). Some of them work on cholera vaccines. I asked once why they need a vaccine as opposed to just using public health measures like hygiene and sanitation, and the answer is in the results -- it just hasn't worked. In Bangladesh there are frequent floods that disrupt their considerable efforts at sanitation, and cholera epidemics are frequent. In Zimbabwe the country's infrastructure has collapsed in the last decade and now they're facing cholera again. Vaccines may be the best intervention to interrupt transmission.

The same is true for rotavirus, which kills more children than any other single infectious agent. The new rotavirus vaccine, introduced in the US(!) within the last few years, has cut down rotavirus admissions by around 70-80% -- and we have good hygiene here. Imagine how hard it is in developing countries.

That's not to say that vaccines are the only answer, and EVERYONE in tropical medicine and global health knows that a tremendous amount of good could be done with simple things like hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, prenatal care, and ALSO childhood vaccines. But honestly effective hygiene and sanitation are a lot more difficult than it sounds, and it requires a tremendous amount of financial investment in otherwise unstable, impoverished places.

Thank you Aedes for you valued input. I understand all to well how the current system works and the limitations that we have in place that have now and have always deterred us from doing what we "could do" if not for those limitations. There is no innate blue print in the universe that dictates and justifies the economic structure that this planet has been striving to survive with since the Earth was flat. Ha. None. By and large, by far the biggest deterrent that impedes our attempt to become "civilized" is the assumption that there is no other way. That is a crock, IMO.

We have the technology, resources, skills and knowledge to change that so very flawed structure. Even the greatest minds are stifled as they are forced to think hindered by those "financial" parameters that dictate whether we do or whether we don't. The reality we have created that suffers from this so very sick economic sturcture, limits us from doing what is right. It must be profitable, economically feasible, or out the window it goes as we again build a cheap band-aid to get us through tomorrow. Greed, wealth, status and power are our road blocks. Honest leadership, trust, communication and global cooperation is the answer. Let's face it, this reality is in big trouble. So, let's change it. We can do that. And if we do it right, no one will suffer from it either. As a matter of a fact , IMO,by far the majority of those who call this planet home will benefit from it. It will be a group effort, no strings attached.
Thanks again for your response.
William