Bio 1 lecture

SDJacinto
Institute of Biology, University of the
Philippines, Diliman
Definition
"New, re-emerging or drug resistant
infections whose incidence in humans
has increased within the past two
decades or whose incidence threatens
to increase in the near future." [US
Institute of Medicine Report, 1992]
 Causative agents..

The fact that many kinds of disease are related to

microorganisms was unknown until the middle of
the 19th Century, by the time of Pasteur.

Doctors often relied on toxic compounds like

arsenic and mercury that could kill bacterial cells,
but were also very harmful to the normal cells of the
infected person.
 We learn about the
afflictions of our
ancestors by studying
human remains, art, and
literature.

Head of Pharaoh Rameses V

showing eruptions strongly
suggestive of smallpox

www.collphyphil.org/ emerging_dis/emdsmain.htm
 Although many viral diseases
remained unconquered, effective
vaccines prevented some of the
most frightening ones.

The success of antibiotics

after World War II led to the
impression that bacterial
infections could be easily
cured.

The case of poliomyelitis in

England and Wales
 Another success story
*January 1, 1967 WHO Intensified Smallpox Eradication
Campaign
Vaccination
Success in 1977
"Infectious Diseases are more easily prevented and
more easily cured than any other major group of
disorders..." ( Harrison's Principles of Internal
Medicine 10th ed., 1983).

Much of the industrialized world basked in a

feeling of invulnerability, assuming that heart
disease and cancer were the major health
problems left to conquer.
*1957-65 WHO Problems with Malaria
Eradication
•DDT, Chloroquin, --Malaria control
abandoned by 1974
•Problem arising from the solution
•DDT pollution
•Mosquito resistance,
•Chloroquin resistance
Today we view infectious disease with
greater respect. The victories of the past are
seen in perspective with the emergence of
HIV/AIDS and at least 30 other new
infections.
Old foes (tuberculosis, rabies, malaria, and
pneumonia) are evading traditional
therapies and are now on the comeback.
Infectious diseases are the leading cause of
death in the world !!! and the third leading
cause of death in the United States.
 1980s = End of optimism

•Resurgence of malaria + cholera +

tuberculosis
•AIDS ? HIV
+ African diseases: Ebola, Marburg
+ Legionnaire’s, Toxic Shock Syndrome
+ 36 others since 1980!
Globalisation: SARS
Deadly microbes can now easily
infect us due to…

Rapid population increase

Urbanization
Change in lifestyle
Re-emerging disease- Tuberculosis

www.chstm.man.ac.uk/.../ hs2151/lecture-8.htm
 Why are they re-
emerging?

Microbe: MDR (multi drug resistant) strains

Medicine: Less effective drugs
Public health: BCG vaccine (Bacillus Calmette-
Guerin) coverage down
Infection: Importation by immigrants
Reemerging (Reinventing?)
the bubonic plague

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
 Effect of plague on population

www.biology.eku.edu/ RITCHISO/317notes3.html
Emerging diseases
Influenza
SARS Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (Feb 2003)
AIDS ( Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome)
Hemorrhagic fever
Lyme disease
E. coli 0157:H7
Bird Flu
-Caused by lentivirus
-Carries RNA
-Attacks the immune system
-Person dies of opportunistic diseases
www.chstm.man.ac.uk/.../ hs2151/lecture-8.htm
www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/ fieldmed/emerging.cfm
Ebola Reston virus caused severe illness
and death in monkeys imported to
research facilities in the U. S. and Italy
are from the Philippines!!

www.cdc.gov/.../spb/ mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm
Sexually Transmitted Diseases-also
caused by microbes
 Bacterial vaginosis
 Chlamydia (Chlamydia trichomatis)
 Gonorrhea (bacteria Nesseria gonorrhea- in reproductive
tract, urethra of men and women, eyes, mouth, throat,
anus)
 Human papillomavirus (HPV) most common-types are the
wart -causing and cancer –causing HPV
 Pelvic inflammatory disease- (PID) secondary to other STDs-
can lead to serious consequences including infertility,
ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube or
elsewhere outside of the womb), abscess formation, and
chronic pelvic pain.
 Syphilis- caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum;
called “the great imitator” because so many of the signs
and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other
diseases. In 2006, 64% of the reported syphilis cases were
among MSM
 Syphilis patients

news.bbc.co.uk

www.clinical-
virology.org

www.adhb.govt.nz
What about cancer?
Xenoestrogens and breast
cancer
Organochlorides suspected
xenoestrogens possibly affecting female
and male population
(http://www.fwhc.org/health/xeno.htm)
Biological warfare (BW)
’Employment of biological agents to
produce casualties in man or animals or
damage to plants.’
Human exposure to these agents may
occur through inhalation, skin
(cutaneous) exposure, or ingestion of
contaminated food or water.
Following exposure, physical symptoms
may be delayed and sometimes
confused with naturally occurring
illnesses.
Biological warfare agents may persist in
the environment and cause problems
some time after their release.
 History of BW
BW attack took place in the Black Sea port of Kaffa
(now Feodossia, Ukraine) in 1346. Rats and their
fleas carried disease to attacking Tartar soldiers.
Between 1754 and 1767 when the British infiltrated
smallpox-infested blankets to unsuspecting American
Indians during the French and Indian war.
1932, the Japanese began experiments on human
beings at ‘Unit 731’ outside Harbin, Manchuria, China.
At least 11 Chinese cities were attacked with the
agents of anthrax, cholera, shigellosis, salmonella,
and plague, and at least 10,000 died during their
gruesome experiments; reportedly dropped fleas over
China and stockpile anthrax for fragmentation bombs
http://images.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://english.china.com/zh_cn/culture_history/news/11020710/20070321/imag
es/14000738_2007032111154427107400.jpg&imgrefurl=http://english.china.com/zh_cn/culture_history/news/11020710/2007
0321/14000738.html&h=720&w=960&sz=139&hl=tl&start=5&um=1&tbnid=rjugboMsWSLVWM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=148&prev=/i
mages%3Fq%3DUnit%2B731%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dtl%26sa%3DN
 US and BW
The United States started an offensive biological
warfare program at Camp Detrick (today Fort Detrick)
in Frederick, Maryland in 1943. Ten years later, the
defensive program began.
In 1969, the U.S. had weaponized the agents causing
anthrax, botulism, tularemia, brucellosis, Venezuelan
equine encephalitis, and Q fever.
These were soon destroyed after President Nixon
unilaterally ended the U.S. offensive biological
warfare program
1972 the U.S. signed the Biological Weapons
Convention stating that it would never develop,
produce, stockpile, acquire, or retain BW agents or
the means to deliver them.
 The Black Maria was the first laboratory facility built to
accommodate top secret research. Scientists completed
interior equipment intstallation
www.detrick.army.mil/ cutting_edge/chapter07.cfm
 BW in more recent history
By 1991, the Iraqis had weaponized anthrax,
botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin.Fortunately, these
were not used during Desert Shield or Desert
Storm. The United Nations destroyed the final
remains of the Iraqi offensive program in 1996.

in 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo cult, that released

sarin nerve gas in a Japanese subway, was found
to possess rudimentary biological weapons
including anthrax, botulism, and Q fever.

Use of ricin toxins, anthrax

 ‘Advantages’ of Biological
Warfare
BW agents can cause large numbers of casualties
with minimal logistical requirements.
Perpetrators can escape long before BW agents
cause casualties, due to the incubation periods of the
agents.
Weapons are easy and cheap to produce and can be
used to selectively target humans, animals, or plants.
The costs of conventional weapons ($2000), nuclear
armaments ($800 M), and chemical agents ($600)
would far outstrip the bargain-basement price of
biological weapons ($1) to produce 50% casualties
per square kilometer (1969 dollars).
Disadvantages of using BW agents

hazards to the user,

their dependence on optimal weather
conditions for effective dispersal,
 their possible inactivation by solar
irradiation and other climatic conditions
(BW attacks would most likely occur late
at night or early in the morning when
agents would be less likely to undergo
inactivation by ultraviolet radiation).
Diseases/agents
Smallpox (Variola virus)
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
Plague (bubonic, Yersinia pestis)
Brucellosis suis from various animals, flu
like symptoms
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)-
plague like transmissible via rodents
Botulism caused by potent protein
neurotoxins produced by Clostridium
botulinum
What are CDCs doing?
Stockpiling antibiotics to treat infected
people
Coordinating a nation-wide program where
states share information about different
diseases
Creating new education tools and
programs for health professionals, the
public, and the media.
The End