Communicable Diseases Triggering The Most Worldwide Deaths

According to World Health Organization and Global Health Organization, the mortality rate has reduced significantly in the last decade. However, the death rate in the least developed countries is still higher compared to the developed countries because of the disparity in the access to medical facilities, sanitation, and nutrition. Children under the age of five are the most affected with 16000 children dying every day.

Some of the leading causes of deaths worldwide include heart diseases, lung diseases, respiratory infections and communicable diseases. Road accident is also one of the principal causes of death in the world today. Infectious diseases are the leading cause of deaths in LDCs. Communicable illness or infectious diseases are the diseases brought about as a result of infection or presence of pathogenic agents in a human body. Infectious diseases can be transmitted from one person to another through body fluid contact, coughing and sneezing, insect bite and through sex. Some of the common communicable diseases include

Worldwide Deaths Triggered By Communicable Diseases

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, just referred to as TB, is the number one infectious disease killer in the whole world. According to WHO, close to 10 million people contracted TB worldwide with a reported 1.5 million deaths. The majority of the TB deaths were recorded in low-income countries especially among women and children aged between 15 and 44. One million children contracted TB in 2014 with over 140000 children dying as a result of TB. HIV-positive patients stand a higher risk of contracting and dying from TB. A significant number of people developed multidrug-resistant TB in 2014. Through Millennium Development Goals TB infections have fallen by 18% between 2000 and 2015 while WHO estimates TB to end by 2030.

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS is still a major public health issue around the world with millions of people dying from the scourge of the disease. According to WHO report, 1.2 million people died of HIV-related diseases globally while 2.1 million people were infected in the same year. By the end of 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa was the leading region with HIV and AIDS cases. There were 36.7 million with the disease and only 54% of HIV-positive people know their status. HIV/AIDS has no cure, but ARVs drugs control the virus and prolong the life of those infected and those at risk of being infected. New HIV infections have been reduced significantly by 35% while AIDS-related deaths fell by 27% between 2000 and 2015.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a viral disease caused by HCV which can also cause Hepatitis infections that can last for a few days to a lifelong illness. Hepatitis C is transmitted through unsafe injections and transfusion of contaminated blood. Globally 140 million people suffer from chronic Hepatitis C infections while 50,000 people die yearly from this infection. Most of the infected people develop liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C currently, and antiviral can manage 90% of people with Hepatitis C infections thus reducing the risk of liver damage.

Climate Change And Infectious Disease

Climate change has a different impact on human health. Many prevalent diseases are climate sensitive because the disease-causing organisms are influenced by the climate. Because of the large population in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, climate change could be a major catalyst in the spread of communicable diseases. Increased temperature may result in prolonged peak period for vector-borne diseases. Other infectious diseases causing deaths in the world today include Malaria, Cholera, and Measles.