A New Major Threat has Been Listed by the World Health Organization
Among other things the World Health Organization is releasing a list of the high-risk factors each year, which is meant to be used as a reference by those that want to be healthy.
The organization has recently released the list for 2019. Ebola has reached a resurgence, with several outbreaks that took place last year. The Dengue fever has also remained a consistent threat with over 390 million infections per year.
Many of the diseases listed are quite dangerous while others are preventable. But a new entry has attracted everyone’s attention and led to furious debates on the internet.
The World Health Organization has decided to add anti-vaxxers on the list of the most dangerous diseases in the world.
The decision has been motivated by the fact that several diseases for which vaccines are available are currently making a comeback since some people have started to refuse the vaccines. One of them is measles, which saw a large outbreak in Europe that resulted in over 41,000 cases in 2018 in comparison to a considerably lower 5,000 in 2016.
The move has been classified as ‘’vaccine hesitancy’’. It is defined as the outright refusal or willing tergiversation of the act of getting vaccinated, even if the vaccine is readily available. In some countries this has revived diseases that could have been completely eliminated.
In most cases vaccines are the cheapest means of preventions since the body will become immune to the disease, or the disease will be considerably tamer. Millions of lives have been saved by vaccines since they were first introduced but many people have jumped on the bandwagon of fear.
Many of those that oppose vaccines believe that they have no real purpose and they are pushed by pharmaceutical corporations that want to gain more money.
One of the biggest threats anticipated by the WHO is another global influenza pandemic. Those that don’t want to be a part of it are advised to get the flu shot before the cold season starts.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.
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