Humanity spent the last century virtually eradicating some of the planet ’s most unpleasant diseases . But some of them have set out showing up again in increase numbers of people . Here are eight disease that , despite once being almost carry off , continue to taint mass today .
1. Scarlet Fever
This deadly disease was first described in the 1500s . Due to its contagious nature and debilitate — if not mortal — essence , people greatly feared eruption of scarlet fever . Fans of theLittle House on the Prairieseries will remember it was carmine fever that cause Mary ’s cecity .
Penicillin demonstrate an effective treatment for the disease , until recently . A suddenspikein scarlet feverishness cases in China , Hong Kong , and Macao in 2011 alerted scientists to a new , more virulent manikin of the disease . It was not just Asia that account more cases — England saw anincreasein cases in 2016 , and in February 2020 , a small outbreak caused a Michigan uncomplicated schoolhouse toclosefor a calendar week
2. Rickets
rachitis was most common in industrialized metropolis during the 1800s . Children who worked in factories had poor diet and got little sun , which resulted in a Vitamin cholecalciferol deficiency . This can lead to pearl problem , bow legs , and stunted growth . As child labor police force limited kids ’ fourth dimension trapped inside and nutrition largely improved , rachitis all but melt .
For almost a one C , rickets was perceive as a disease that was “ taken care of . ” But in recent X , case numbers haveincreased . Poor dieting and hours spend indoors are n’t fully to charge . Rickets is a particular concern for breastfed baby , as breast Milk River does n’t contain an passable amount of vitamin D. agree to theCDC , it ’s rarified for breastfeeding baby to get the disease , but it ’s still important to append their diet with additional vitamin D.
3. Gout
The firstdocumentedcase of gout was in Egypt in 2600 BCE . Though anyone could get it , gout was screw as “ the king ’s disease ” because symptoms most often present themselves in royalty and the wealthy — Henry VIII and George IV both suffered from it . There was no cure , and once someone had one flak of gout , they were likely to get it again . The chief symptom was unbelievably excruciating pain in a joint , usually the self-aggrandizing toe . Attacks could last up to a week , made walk almost unsufferable , and even the weight of a light mantle typically put too much pressure on the joint .
The identification number of people suffering from gout in the U.S. has almostdoubledin the last 50 old age , and the numbers are ask to keep heighten . Today , more than 8 million Americans have the disease . A dieting of fatty meat , alcohol , and sugary drinks increases the risk of gout , as does historic period .
4. Syphilis
This sexually broadcast disease first appeared in Italy in1494 . The day of the month and localization have led many historians to conclude it get to Europe from the Americas . For more than 400 days , the disease was completely untreatable and became an epidemic in some areas . Vincent van Gogh ’s blood brother , Winston Churchill ’s male parent , andAl Caponeall suffered from syphilis . People have also speculated everyone fromHenry VIIItoOscar WildetoAdolf Hitlerhad it as well .
By the end of the twentieth 100 , the U.S. wason trackto eliminate syphilis , thanks to the 1943 availability of penicillin and a large awareness of the dangers of unprotected sex . tight forwards two decades , and that ’s no longer the case . The rates ofSTIslike syphilis , chlamydia , and gonorrheaspikedto a record high in 2018 , due to factors like decreased condom usage , drug - induce risky deportment , and cuts to sex education syllabus .
5, 6, and 7. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
In the last 150 years , rubeola is guess to have killed more than200 millionpeople ; mumps was once theleading causeof viral meningitis ; and German measles epidemics leave in tens of G ofmiscarriages and deaths . In the 1960s , vaccines for all three diseases were develop and combined into one simplevaccine , the MMR . This caused the phone number of type to plump .
But in 1998 , the honored medical journalThe Lancetpublished a work that linked the MMR vaccine to autism . The media widely report the resolution , fueling theanti - vaccinum effort , and large number of parent stopped vaccinating their nestling against these disease . In 2004 and again in 2010 , the aesculapian residential district rejected the article and its findings as “ utterly false , ” but the damage was done .
eruption of all three disease are increasing . In 2019 , the U.S. hadmore than 1200 measles case — the highest bit since the CDC declared iteliminatedin the nation in 2000 . England had more than5000 casesof epidemic parotitis in 2019 — the country ’s mellow number in a decennary . And though epidemic roseola waseradicatedin the Americas , it ’s still an issue in Europe : Poland and Romania suffered from epidemic roseola outbreaks in 2011 and 2012 [ PDF ] .
8. Polio
While suspected cases of infantile paralysis go as far back asAncient Egypt , the first clinical description of the disease was n’t written until 1789 . While occasional individual cases were not uncommon , it was n’t until the 20th century that a worldwide acute anterior poliomyelitis epidemic go on , top out in the fifties . Franklin D. Rooseveltis probably the most famous sick person , but at its height acute anterior poliomyelitis paralyzed or killed approximatelyhalf a million peopleevery yr .
Two differentvaccinescompletely extinguish the disease in much of the macrocosm . According to the World Health Organization , as of 2020 , wild poliovirus type 1 isstill presentin Pakistan and Afghanistan . Vaccine - infer poliovirus , which can hap in hard under - immunized populations , still affects countries where wild polio is no longer endemic , such as Chad , Ethiopia , and Ghana .
