Head of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan has listed viral diseases that can eliminate entire nations. Effective drugs are not developed yet, so the only method of preventing dreadful diseases is not to let them spread.
Since four infections are out of control, the whole world may be in danger. Ebola fever is now widespread in Guinea, Saudi Arabia suffers from the crownvirus of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, and in Asia several people have died from the two kinds of bird flu – H5N1 and H7N9.
According to Chan, who spoke at the opening of the 67th World Health Assembly, the main reason for the emergence and spread of deadly diseases is armed conflicts. Because of them, there is a mass movement of workers (virus carriers) to other countries, while the border control in war zones is usually very weak.
This was the reason for the recent outbreak of polio in Syria and Afghanistan. Last year, armed Islamists in Pakistan repeatedly shot WHO volunteers who vaccinated people. As a result, the campaign against the disease ceased, and an outbreak of the virus spread to the neighboring countries.
According to the head of the UN specialized agencies, all of the long-term work in this direction was in vain, even though the volunteers were sure that polio had been almost defeated.
According to Chan, the world population will never be protected from dangerous diseases until it provides doctors with an ability to work in safety and maintains the right lifestyle. In some countries, people die of overeating and obesity, whereas in others they malnourish and die from exhaustion. Modern environment provides excellent opportunities for microbes to develop, and it is not surprising that they gradually gain power.
Scientists fear that harmful bacteria might have begun to develop resistance to antibiotics, which can make common infections become lethal in the future. Within a few days, experts from around the world will discuss this and many other issues, including modern methods of treating tuberculosis, the nutritional habits of the children and women in the third world countries, etc. The meeting will last until May 25.
