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Do you remember the panic that gripped the nation during the days of polio? How about hearing that someone in the community was ill with scarlet fever and hoping they would make it through? You might remember someone who had measles or mumps – or you might have suffered from them yourself.
Many of these problems were eradicated (almost) by vaccines and proper treatments. For instance, scarlet fever could be deadly in the years before the discovery of penicillin. And before vaccines showed up, influenza could be deadly enough to wipe out entire families.
Today, there are a few significant ways to protect against old-school diseases. The first is getting vaccinations and boosters if necessary. The second is education on what these diseases are and what they can do to the body. The third is to visit your doctor and get prompt treatment for any illness beyond the common cold.
The Importance of Vaccines
According to the World Health Organization, vaccines are undeniably effective. To be approved, a vaccine must have an efficacy rate of 50% or higher. That doesn’t mean that the vaccine works only half the time; what it means is that a vaccine must prevent illness in at least 50% of those who come into contact with a virus.1
The higher the efficacy rate, the fewer people get sick from the virus, and the fewer people who are sick, the less likely they are to spread the virus to others.
To put that in perspective, in 2020 the whole world was in the grip of COVID. Those who contracted the virus became extremely ill, and the effect was most pronounced on the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Pharmaceutical companies raced to build a vaccine that would target the virus and save lives – and they did so, with vaccines that had a whopping 95% efficacy rate, according to Yale Medicine.2
The result is that today, just four years later, the CDC and other governmental and scientific agencies believe COVID is now on a par with influenza.
In some cases, a vaccine can actually eradicate a disease altogether. Current generations don’t know the fear of smallpox because the disease no longer exists in nature. The smallpox vaccine was developed in 1798. The last natural outbreak of smallpox occurred in the United States in 1949, and by 1980, the WHO declared that smallpox had been completely eradicated. Today, the only strains of the Variola virus – the virus that causes smallpox – are locked up in research labs.
This is an example of a virus that was driven to extinction by vaccines. Millions of lives were saved by the introduction and consistent use of the vaccine against smallpox.
Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology reports that there are currently 13 diseases we can fight with vaccines. Some of the most effective of these include the vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. One of the most significant success stories is polio, which is still around but very rarely leads to infection, especially in the United States.3
The hope is that these vaccines, when taken regularly and as directed by the general population, will completely eradicate the diseases they are designed to fight. Consider vaccines as you would an alert for elderly adults– as a very strong safety net that can help you avoid dire consequences.
Are Old-School Diseases Making a Comeback?
It’s vitally important to keep up with a vaccination schedule to protect yourself and those around you from the viruses that could lead to severe illness, lifelong problems, and premature death. Some viruses and other illnesses you might remember from your childhood are still around and occasionally an outbreak can wreak havoc on a community.
Scarlet Fever
If you were a fan of Little House on the Prairie, you likely remember that Mary was blind as a result of contracting scarlet fever. This virus often had a debilitating effect on those who survived it. When caught early, penicillin was the front-line treatment for the disease, which saved many lives – but even with proper treatment, a person who suffered from scarlet fever could find their life drastically changed (just like Mary did).
However, scarlet fever has evolved, as all viruses try to do. In 2011, there was a sudden spike in cases of scarlet fever in China, Hong Kong, and Macao. Scientists discovered that this strain was more aggressive than those from years past and thus, the vaccine wasn’t as effective against it.
The same spike in cases occurred in England in 2016, and in 2020, scarlet fever popped up in communities in the United States. Though the virus has stayed relatively quiet, these cases are a reminder of how incredibly important vaccines can be.
No matter what health crisis is afoot, it’s always a good idea to have a button alert on hand at all times!
Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella has an interesting history.
The vaccines for all three were developed in the 1960s and combined into one vaccine, usually referred to simply as MMR. This vaccine was given to adults and children. Within a matter of years cases of all three diseases began to plummet. Millions of lives were saved and many debilitating cases of viral meningitis (the result of mumps) were averted, as were hundreds of thousands of miscarriages as a result of rubella.
Then came 1998 and an article in The Lancet that seemed to link the MMR vaccine to autism. The result was the first widespread anti-vaccine movement, during which parents refused to vaccinate their children with MMR. Though the study was debunked six years later and the author was stripped of his medical license, the damage had been done.
Today, outbreaks of measles, mumps, and rubella are increasing. The United States had more than 1,200 cases of measles in 2019, and England saw 5,000 cases of mumps that same year. As for rubella, though it is the least common of the three, it’s still around – outbreaks occurred in Poland in 2011 and Romania in 2012.
If you were one of those individuals who didn’t get the MMR vaccine, it’s not too late to get it. Contracting mumps, measles, or rubella can be deadly for anyone, but especially for the elderly.
Polio
Polio was – and is – an absolutely terrifying disease.
Polio is believed to have been around for thousands of years. A clinical description was written for the disease in 1789, making it clear just how bad this virus could be. If you managed to survive polio, you were often paralyzed or had other severe mobility issues. By the 1950s, polio was infecting about 500,000 people every year, and most of them were children.
The rollout of the polio vaccine was cause for jubilation. People stood in line for hours to get vaccinated. The creator of the vaccine, Jonas Salk, was considered a hero – and for good reason. It is impossible to count the number of lives spared by his creation of the polio vaccine.
The first vaccines were given as injections and they were rather painful, so many elderly adults might vividly remember their polio vaccine. Eventually polio was available as an oral vaccine, thus making it much easier to take and increasing the number of those who chose to get it.
The disease was quickly brought under firm control and by 2020, there were only small pockets of infections across the world in places like Ethiopia, Ghana, and Pakistan. But it’s important to remember that polio still exists in the wild, which means that being lax about vaccinations could allow it to come roaring back.
Some elderly individuals might still experience the effects of having polio as a child. One well-known example is politician Mitch McConnell, who contracted polio when he was a toddler and was left with a paralyzed leg. Though physical therapy helped, he still has some difficulty with climbing stairs more than 70 years later.
Rickets
This was a disease that often showed up in those who didn’t get much sunlight, such as child laborers in industrialized cities in the early 1800s. The deficiency of vitamin D led to stunted growth, bowed legs, and problems with bones. This was a gradual problem that often became evident when a child began to experience pain in their legs or didn’t grow as tall or as fast as their peers.
The advent of child labor laws and better nutrition meant that rickets virtually disappeared. Suddenly, kids were no longer confined in dark factories, working long hours under artificial light. They also had access to better food, especially as school lunch programs began to take off.
But in recent years, many adults have developed rickets, probably as a result of poor diet and too much time spent indoors. Vitamin D supplements can help prevent the problem.
Gout
Gout was first documented in 2600 BC. It was often found among the wealthy citizens of Egypt, which is why it became known as “the king’s disease.” The attacks of gout appeared seemingly at random and could sideline someone for weeks with excruciating pain.
Though the disease went quiet for a time, it has come roaring back. In fact, the number of people who suffer from gout has almost doubled in the last 50 years, and much of that is attributed to poor diet and aging – your odds of developing gout rise as you get older.
If you suffer from gout or any of the other diseases listed here, taking good care of yourself should be a top priority. To that end, make sure you have a medical alarm at your fingertips at all times. If you have trouble walking, suffer a fall, or otherwise face any sort of medical emergency, you can reach out for help right away and get the assistance you need.
And if you are concerned about any of these diseases, talk to your doctor about what you can do to avoid them. This can include lifestyle changes, medications, and getting vaccinated. Alert1 wishes you the best of health.
