“A virus can be useful to a species by thinning it out.” Research the concept of herd
immunity and how it ultimately can benefit a species chance for survival.
Her immunity (can also be referred to as community immunity) assist in controlling diseases: "The principle of community immunity applies to control of a variety of contagious diseases, including influenza, measles, mumps, rotavirus, and pneumococcal disease" (NIAID). It works by immunizing a mass of the population with in a community. Over time, the population gains immunity, inhibiting the spread of the disease and the possible riddance of the disease. With this concept, comes two possible ways to execute it, one of them being extremely favored over the other. The first way is to expose a mass percentage of the community with the vaccine to prevent spread of a disease. The second way is to expose the pathogen to people and letting them gain immunity, but having to go through the effects of the disease. Limiting the chain of outbreaks increases the survival rate of the community and the future community. Yet, herd immunity cannot just be applied to a generalized number indicating what amount is "mass population." If mass population is 80%, and the disease is measles, this attempt to contain the disease would fail. Disease have different severity levels and will require an immunity threshold that corresponds with how severe the disease is. Scientist use a value called "RO": "This number represents how many people in an unprotected population one infected person could pass the disease along to" (Willingham and Helft). Why herd immunity is necessary is because back in older eras, populations could not travel like modern people do today. Most populations were cut off by geographical barriers, inhibiting spread of a disease among a nation or nations. Now, we have modernized transportation through cars, planes, and other means, making the spread of a disease like TB extremely easy and also extremely dangerous.
There are many examples, but the one I'm going to focus on is chicken pox in the US and the death rates plus hospitalization rates of it before 1995 and after 1995. Before 1995, the rates of people with chicken pox rose higher than ever before. An average of 4 million people were infected. Hospitalization rates were at alarming numbers: "10,500 to 13,000 were hospitalized (range, 8,000 to 18,000), and 100 to 150 died each year" (CDC). Then, in 1995, the vaccine for chicken pox was developed. Then, applying the concept of herd immunity, the CDC distributed the vaccine to a large number of the population, following its immunity threshold. After the distribution, death rates and hospitalization rates dropped significantly: "deaths rates from chicken pox dropped by as much as 97%" (Willingham and Helft).
Her immunity (can also be referred to as community immunity) assist in controlling diseases: "The principle of community immunity applies to control of a variety of contagious diseases, including influenza, measles, mumps, rotavirus, and pneumococcal disease" (NIAID). It works by immunizing a mass of the population with in a community. Over time, the population gains immunity, inhibiting the spread of the disease and the possible riddance of the disease. With this concept, comes two possible ways to execute it, one of them being extremely favored over the other. The first way is to expose a mass percentage of the community with the vaccine to prevent spread of a disease. The second way is to expose the pathogen to people and letting them gain immunity, but having to go through the effects of the disease. Limiting the chain of outbreaks increases the survival rate of the community and the future community. Yet, herd immunity cannot just be applied to a generalized number indicating what amount is "mass population." If mass population is 80%, and the disease is measles, this attempt to contain the disease would fail. Disease have different severity levels and will require an immunity threshold that corresponds with how severe the disease is. Scientist use a value called "RO": "This number represents how many people in an unprotected population one infected person could pass the disease along to" (Willingham and Helft). Why herd immunity is necessary is because back in older eras, populations could not travel like modern people do today. Most populations were cut off by geographical barriers, inhibiting spread of a disease among a nation or nations. Now, we have modernized transportation through cars, planes, and other means, making the spread of a disease like TB extremely easy and also extremely dangerous.
ReplyDeleteps. I meant "Herd immunity" in my first sentence
ReplyDeleteHi Josh, can you give some examples of when "herd immunity" has worked for the human population?
DeleteThere are many examples, but the one I'm going to focus on is chicken pox in the US and the death rates plus hospitalization rates of it before 1995 and after 1995. Before 1995, the rates of people with chicken pox rose higher than ever before. An average of 4 million people were infected. Hospitalization rates were at alarming numbers: "10,500 to 13,000 were hospitalized (range, 8,000 to 18,000), and 100 to 150 died each year" (CDC). Then, in 1995, the vaccine for chicken pox was developed. Then, applying the concept of herd immunity, the CDC distributed the vaccine to a large number of the population, following its immunity threshold. After the distribution, death rates and hospitalization rates dropped significantly: "deaths rates from chicken pox dropped by as much as 97%" (Willingham and Helft).
ReplyDelete