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The 10 worst threats to global health in 2018

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The 10 worst threats to global health in 2018
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Malnutrition, natural disasters, meningitis, yellow fever…. the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published the various threats to global health this year…..

10. Cholera

Over 2,000 years separate us from the appearance of the bacteria that causes cholera, which doesn’t stop it from still spreading throughout the world and “killing almost 100,000 people every year in communities already overwhelmed by poverty and conflict ” (sub-Saharan Africa and Asia).

9. Food poisoning

Of the 600 million people who get sick after eating contaminated food, 420,000 lose their lives. To protect against food poisoning, it is important to wash your hands well before and during cooking, and it is obviously out of the question to prepare food while you have tummy bug. You should also avoid leaving food at room temperature for more than 2 hours before putting it in the fridge, to ensure the cleanliness and correct temperature of your fridge. Avoid using the same cooking utensils for raw and cooked foods. If you are cooking minced meat, ensure it is well-done. Quickly eat foods that don’t have expiry dates marked on them.

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Credits: Pixabay

8. Flu epidemics

Although methods for detecting and responding to flu are now understood (and vaccine policies have been developed), a flu epidemic may unfortunately be inevitable, according to the WHO. Depending on how widespread it becomes, it could lead to millions of deaths.

7. Meningitis

Meningitis kills 10% of people who contract the illness. Still reasonably rare in Europe, it threatens mainly 26 countries along the African belt. The global shortage of vaccines for this disease is all the more worrying, as an epidemic could affect 34 million people, not to mention the severe neurological side effects for survivors.

6. Natural disasters

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and landslides have serious health consequences for affected populations. Following the monsoons in Bangladesh, and storms Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017, the current climate situation is a predictor of future similar disasters.