Healthcare in Poor Countries
by Qiheng GAO
1. Tuberculosis
1.1. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that is transmitted through fine respiratory droplets.
1.2. It usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body.
1.3. Tuberculosis is fatal if untreated.
1.4. People who are infected with TB don’t always develop TB Disease. Sometimes, the immune system walls it off and it lays dormant. While it is dormant, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis can not spread and people don’t show any symptoms. This is called Latent TB infection
1.5. TB disease develops in 10% of the people with Latent TB infection.
1.6. The Risk of Latent TB infection developing into TB disease is higher in
1.7. Persons with underlying medical conditions such as HIV infection and diabetes;
1.8. Persons who have a weakened immune system e.g. due to drugs or sickness;
1.9. Persons who have poor nutritional status; and
1.10. Drug addicts.
1.11. TB cannot spread through body fluids or touching something that someone with TB has touched or Touching someone with TB.
1.12. Symptoms of TB
1.13. a persistent cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
1.14. low-grade fever
1.15. night sweats
1.16. fatigue
1.17. weight loss
1.18. chest pain
1.19. coughing up blood or sputum
1.20. Early detection is key to treatment of Tb
1.21. TB is treated with anti TB drugs using the DOT programme. DOT programme involves taking several different drugs to treat TB. Sometimes, DOTS doesn’t work and you might have MDR TB which is Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Then you need to take second line drugs. Your chance of being cured is also significantly reduced from 95%.
1.22. Infection with TB can cause permanent lung damage if not treated early. It can also spread to other parts of the body where it can lead to life-threatening complications.
1.23. 1.9 million die from Tuburculosis. Resistance to the 5 major TB drugs are Spreading. 400000 TB victims are HIV positive.
2. Malaria
2.1. Malaria is passed on when a mosquito infected with the malaria parasite bites a human, when biting a human, the mosquito injects saliva into the bloodstream to prevent blood from clotting. However, the malaria parasite will be present inside the mosquito’s saliva so the parasite will be passed on to the human.
2.2. Malaria rides the bloodstream towards the liver which is the parasite’s first target.
2.3. The Parasite arrives at the liver and searches for an exit.
2.4. The parasite enters the liver tissue through a kupffer cell, the parasite infects a liver cell, killing one or more cell on it’s way.
2.5. The parasite then undergoes hundreds of nuclear divisions, a single infected liver cell can create thousands of new parasites.
2.6. The parasites created from the liver cell are modified to infect a new target, red blood cells.
2.7. Inside a Red Blood Cell, the Malaria Parasite can hide from the Body’s immune system.
2.8. The Malaria Parasite Devours the contents of the red blood cell, creating thousands of new parasites.
2.9. The infected red blood cell becomes sticky and sticks to the blood vessel walls. Once the parasites are mature. The cell bursts, releasing the parasites into the bloodstream.
2.10. Malaria Victims Suffer Fever, Blood Loss, Convulsions, Brain damage, and Coma. This year, 10% of the human population will be struck down by malaria.
2.11. Most people that die from malaria are pregnant women and young children under 5.
2.12. Malaria can cause Hypoglycemia, anaemia and cerebral malaria. Cerebral Malaria can cause Brain Damage.
2.13. Mosquito Nets can help but are still too expensive for the people most vulnerable to malaria.
2.14. In the west, malaria has almost been defeated.
2.15. There hasn’t been an effective vaccine for malaria yet
2.16. Rich countries can persuade drug companies to make malaria vaccines by promising to buy them after they were invented.
2.17. Malaria kills at least 1 million people a year, 90% of malaria deaths are in africa.
2.18. What Conditions Allow Malaria to be so deadly in Africa???
2.19. Countries with the most reported cases of malaria deaths are often in Sub Saharan africa
3. HIV/AIDS
3.1. 9/10 people suffering from HIV/AIDS live in developing countries. Most people in developing countries cant afford the drugs they need and die from secondary illnesses. Especially TB Anti Retroviral Drugs Delay the onset of AIDS Pressure on drug companies has lowered the price of Anti Retroviral Drugs. However, most people still can’t afford them. Food is the first medicine for any disease, hungry people are much more vulnerable If people are aware of how to prevent diseases like HIV Aids. Then the next generation may be able to overcome it. There is no cure for aids. Without treatment, most of sub-saharan africa’s 25 million HIV positive people could die in the next 10 years. That could create a food crisis and leave 20 million aids orphans. 2.5 million die from AIDS/HIV. 1.8 of the deaths are in sub saharan africa
3.2. Refer Back to this website: https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/signs-and-symptoms/
