Eradication of Disease

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the eradication of disease and explores whether it is worth the cost, if it can be accomplished on a global scale and what types of diseases are candidates for eradication. The paper looks at the difficulties involved in immunization programs and shows how infectious diseases must be considered in a global context.

Outline:
Introduction
Background & Research
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The only disease ever to be eradicated is small pox. On May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly declared that smallpox had been eradicated globally. For the first time in history, mankind had vanquished a disease. However, this was not the first attempt to eradicate a global disease. It was the fifth. (CDC) Efforts to eliminate hookworm, yellow fever, yaws, and malaria had failed. There may be a number of reasons why the efforts towards eliminating smallpox succeeded and others had failed. Smallpox had a number of highly favorable characteristics which made it a prime candidate for eradication including the very heat-stable vaccine which was effectively administered with a single dose. No other disease comes close to matching these advantages. That presents a host of difficulties, which we try to address in this paper. These include administering multiple doses in disadvantaged poorer countries as well as to poorer people in more affluent countries. Other factors include delivering effective immunization programs in countries with a less developed health-care, transportation, and communications' infrastructure especially in Asia and Africa."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barrett, S. & Howe, M., (2003) Optimal Disease Eradication, School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, Washington, DC.
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