diseased

Last night, over dinner, a group of us were talking about disease; particularly flu virus, colds, and immunizations. I have been sick more times this year with two colds in Antarctica (back-on-back), food poisoning in Australia, and the flu in Haiti. Beyond being updated with my normal shots, I should not contract yellow fever in the next eight years, nor typhoid in the next two years. By now I should be doubly protected against Hepatitis A for life and I have started the Hepatitis B series as well.

Since I have supported the One Campaign (against AIDS and global poverty), and I've been to a couple parts of the world where nasty diseases are prevalent, and I'm still on weekly doses of chloroquine to knock out any malaria bug I may have caught in Haiti, a couple of new discoveries in the news caught my attention as particularly interesting.

The first is a discovery about malaria, how it attacks the body, and how a treatment may be created. The disease can be particularly uncomfortable, stick with its' host for a long time, and kill if not treated properly. The prescriptions can have some strange side effects and long term use is questionable with some people. So, any research towards an immunization or a means to irradicate the disease from a body is great news!

The second is a connection between susceptibility to HIV and a malaria gene found in people of African descent. Strangely, while those with the gene tend to contract the disease with more early problems, many often live longer with HIV (by two years) than those who don't have it.

There has always been this myth that people in sub-Saharan Africa were more likely to get HIV because of differences in their sexual behaviour, or that they are more promiscuous. This shows that it's not that simple, and I think it will be an important message for education programmes in these areas. -- Dr Ade Fakoya, BBC --

People are so smart! I am impressed with the developments that continue to be made in so many areas of the world; with disease, technology, physics, biology, and generally how the world operates.