Some may have just been blown out of proportion to feed our mass hysteria about sickness. Still, others were severe health scares that we should have given more credit to on the first onset of an outbreak.
- Anthrax
After 9-11 there was a tremendous amount of scares and public outcry. One of the significant health scares that started this previous decade was one of the Anthrax scares. Where a white powder was found in the contaminated mail and caused a widespread fear of opening up packages and mail.
Anthrax is defined by as a severe bacterial infection caused by Bacillus anthracis that occurs primarily in animals. Aerosolized spores of B anthracis can potentially be used for biological warfare and bioterrorism.
- Avian Influenza or Bird Flu
The Asian Influenza virus is commonly found in birds, yet it was able to be spread to humans as well.
- HPV the Human Papilloma Virus
HPV was brought into the spotlight, and a vaccine was made available.It worked best at preventing infection of the disease for young women who had not had sexual intercourse yet.
The Human Papilloma Virus is a papillomavirus that infects the epidermis and mucous membranes of humans. There are many types of Human Papilloma Virus and some cause warts, and others can lead to cancers of the cervix.
- Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness that became a global threat in early 2003.
- Swine Flu
Swine Flu or H1N1 is a respiratory infection caused by an influenza virus first recognized around the spring of 2009.
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
Staphylococcus Aureus is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. Because it is resistant to commonly used antibiotics, it is harder to treat than most other strains of staph.
- Hepatitis B
The clinic defines Hepatitis B as a severe liver infection caused by the hepatitis B. scariest thing about Hepatitis B is that sometimes it is hard to detect in certain individuals. With how some infected people show little concern for spreading this sickness, it is continually spreading.
- Lead paint on toys from China.
Mattel recalled millions of toys that were manufactured in China. This also lead to a global controversy on all China made products. A family member of mine still refuses to have any items that came from China in his house.
- Cell phone use
Have been a bunch of changes in the technology of the cell phone. Still, there are clear links involving the radiation emitted by the phone to cause brain tumors.
- Animal-Food recall
One of the USA’s largest animal-food recall was due to a prohibited chemical, melamine, contaminated pet food. The contaminated food was responsible for killing cats and dogs.
Related Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/index.html
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/avian/
https://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/24892
https://transplant.surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions–procedures/hepatitis-b.aspx