Diseases from Charles Dickens’ time are making a comeback, even if they were eradicated, experts warn. Declining vaccination rates, high costs of living, poor diets and malnutrition all contribute to the resurgence of these dangerous diseases. NHS figures reveal that Victorian-era illnesses managed to produce 50,000 hospital admissions between 2018 and 2023, and this year, many of them are on the rise. Here is a list of 5 terrible diseases in human history that are coming back, even though they were eradicated.
Diseases in human history: Scabies (mange)
Scabies is an itchy, contagious skin disease. The disease affected millions of people for hundreds of years, but it was not until 1687 that it was identified as a parasite. Scabies does not kill, but it is not exactly a pleasant disease, especially as it produces severe itching that can affect the quality of life. Cases of scabies have already been detected in Great Britain, more precisely, in November 2023, 27,484 cases were registered in England and Wales.
Experts fear that treatment options are limited, which could impact patients’ quality of life and increase the risk of skin infections and mental health problems.
Symptoms of scabies include:
- severe itching, especially at night
- raised spots on the skin
Pertussis
Whooping cough is a contagious bacterial infection that affects the lungs. Before immunization was introduced in the 1950s, this disease, also known as “100-day cough”, used to affect young people thousands of years ago.
Unfortunately, between July and November 2023 there were 856 suspected cases of whooping cough in England and Wales.
Experts are of the opinion that this phenomenon occurs because of the pandemic restrictions and the low vaccination rate.
The symptoms of whooping cough are:
- cold symptoms such as sore throat and stuffy nose
- cough that lasts a few minutes and gets worse at night
- wheezing between coughing episodes
- difficulty breathing after coughing
- thick mucus that can make you vomit
- flushing of the face
Scurvy
Scurvy, the disease of pirates and sailors in the 18th century, is caused by vitamin C deficiency. This is why it was an extremely common disease in the Victorian era, when fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by.
This disease can lead to skin problems and tooth loss. In extreme cases, it can cause internal bleeding, which can result in death. Between 2019 and 2023, 269 cases of scurvy were recorded in the UK.
The symptoms of the disease are:
- feeling tired and weak, irritability and feeling sad
- severe joint pain
- inflamed and bleeding gums
- the skin bruises very quickly
Diseases in human history: Rickets
Rickets is a deficiency disease caused by a lack of calcium or vitamin D. Like scurvy, rickets was a common disease in the Victorian era, especially in industrial cities where smoke blocked sunlight and people suffered from malnutrition. That is until, in the early 1900s, researchers discovered how important the sun and vitamin D are in bone development.
Vitamin D is also found in foods such as fish and eggs. Between 2019 and 2023, 28,379 Britons were diagnosed with rickets.
The symptoms of the disease are:
- weak bones and susceptible to deformations
- bone pain
- toothache
rose rash
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases globally. It used to cause epidemics every 2-3 years devastating communities and killing thousands of people. All that changed when John Franklin Enders developed a vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease in 1963.
The World Health Organization claims that at least 95% of people should get the measles vaccine to boost immunity. But at present, this ideal picture is far from being achieved, which is why measles cases are on the rise.
The symptoms of the disease are:
- increased temperature
- runny nose
- sneeze
- cough
- red, stinging and watering eyes
2024-01-10 13:08:46
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