The Spread Of Global Disease

Globalization has created increased access to international trade, travel, communication and information. While these aspects of globalization have many positive aspects, there also are negative features to consider.

One of the major negative effects of globalization is the spread of global disease. Infectious diseases are now more easily transmitted due to international trade and travel, microbial drug resistance and poverty. There are three major diseases commonly classified as global diseases: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Global diseases are transmitted through both international travel and trade. Transportation advances in developing areas, as well as increased access to air travel, have considerably shortened travel time between destinations. Since global diseases are difficult to detect, people are able to travel at faster rates than most global diseases' incubation periods. As a result, travelers are able to spread infection without even being aware they are sick. International trade also aids in the transfer of global diseases. Many traded goods are either food products or livestock. Developing nations often lack food safety and sanitary regulations. As a result, diseases may be imported through food or infected animals.

One positive effect of globalization is that nations have greater access to antibiotics. However, there has been an increased abuse of antibiotics, contributing to the increase of microbial drug resistance aiding the spread of global diseases. Health professionals sometimes are quick to prescribe antibiotics for simple illnesses. People develop immunities. Also, antibiotics are ingested by people through the consumption of antibiotic-treated livestock. As a result, more diseases have developed resistance to medicines and newer, stronger strains of diseases have developed. This makes the treatment of global diseases even more difficult.

There have been significant increases in global poverty due to international trade policies. The trade polices of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization have left many developed nations with insufficient health care systems, housing, education and a lower standard of living. Many developing nations are ill-equipped to provide treatments, access to health facilities and health education needs in order to prevent and treat global diseases. The economic policies enforced by developed nations also hinder developing nations' access to generic brands of the drugs used to treat global diseases. Many pharmaceutical companies of developed nations hold patents to their drugs and refuse to sell them at an affordable price.

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are the three major global diseases. AIDS is an incurable disease charged with systematically destroying a person's immune system. AIDS is caused by the HIV infection, which is transmitted through an exchange of bodily fluids. The treatment for AIDS/HIV is very expensive. Only recently have large pharmaceutical companies agreed to sell AIDS/HIV drugs to developing nations at a lower price. However, the disease has been rapidly spreading globally. According the World Health Organization's international AIDS/HIV relief effort, 40 million people currently are living with AIDS. About 25.8 million infected individuals live in Africa. The organization also found 4.9 million people are infected with the HIV virus, with 3.2 million of living in Africa. Factors contributing to the spread of AIDS/HIV are a lack of adequate public health systems, lack of trained professionals and limited capabilities to educated people about how to avoid HIV infection, distribute AIDS medicine and treat people with AIDS/HIV.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second largest global disease. TB is an airborne disease and is spread when infected people cough, sneeze or speak. TB is difficult to detect because people who are infected have no symptoms. Symptoms only begin to develop when the immune system is compromised by the disease. These symptoms include lingering coughs, fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, night sweats and fatigue. TB can only be cured through the four different medicines taken over a six to 12 month period. TB is mainly spread by international travel and trade. However, the increase in the spread of TB also is due to the development of a drug-resistant strain of TB called MDR-TB. This strain developed due to poor or incomplete TB treatment. The World Health Organization has estimated 1.75 million people die each year from TB. TB is the leading cause of death among people infected with HIV.

The third major global disease is malaria. Malaria is spread through mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite from the blood of infected humans. Symptoms include fever, shivering, pain in the joints, vomiting, convulsions and coma. Malaria mainly is spread through international travel. Mosquitoes are transported from county to country through air travel. Malaria is developing new strands, which contributes to its increased spread. The disease has developed a resistance to the main drug used to treat it: chloroquine. The mosquitoes carrying the disease also have developed resistance to pesticides. The World Health Organization estimates there are more than 300 million acute malaria illnesses and at least one million deaths annually.

International public health professionals recommend creating a stronger global public health system in order to combat the spread of global diseases. More effective networks must be created in order to respond properly to outbreaks of global diseases, improve standards of living, spread education and enable better access to treatments and research.

Trade policies between nations need to make changes to better assist the growth and advancement of developing nations, as well as decrease the number of those living in poverty. Global disease is a global problem and needs to be taken into consideration by all members of the international community.