Learning about Diseases
The World Health Organization has a wealth of information about mortality, disability burdens, life expectancies, demographics, and other topics related to environmental health. For information about specific diseases, go to www.who.int/health-topics/idindex.htm. Look up the current status of ebola and SARS, and compare them to a disease that occurs closer to where you live (consult fig. 8.4 in this chapter). For more information about SARS, consult www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm. From this page, you can also link to information about other diseases by clicking on "statistics by disease or condition" and then "tropical diseases." What organisms cause these diseases? What is their current distribution and prevalance? What environmental and social factors contribute to their spread? What treatment (if any) exists for these diseases, and how might they be prevented? See links on this web page for the newsletter Action Against Infection for up-to-date information about efforts to stop the spread of contagious diseases.
