7-1 Discussion: Future Vaccinations (two pages)

In your opinion, what disease still needs an effective vaccine? Why hasn’t a vaccine been developed yet? Please consider the biological, environmental, and financial factors.  In responses to your peers, consider whether vaccines should be mandated or optional to the general public. Explain your reasoning and don’t be afraid to challenge your peers’ assumptions. However, remember that comments should remain professional

Response one

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in human’s can be traced as far back as the 1800s (CDC, 2018).  Originally, a disease of chimpanzee’s and apes known as simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), HIV developed when humans came in contact (i.e., hunting for meat) with infected blood from these mammals (CDC, 2018).  Particularly an epidemic in Africa, HIV remains a deadly disease without a cure or vaccine.

HIV weakens an individual’s immune system, destroying important cells that fight disease and infection (CDC, 2018).  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2018), the incidence of new cases of HIV has seen a decline in most recent years.  Comparing rates to 2011-2015, the number of individuals diagnosed with HIV has dropped five percent to 38,782 in the United States during 2016; however, many cases go unreported due to individuals not knowing their status (CDC, 2018).

Creating a vaccine for HIV has been challenging, particularly from a biological standpoint.  As noted by Safrit, Fast, Gierber, Kuipers, Dean and Koff (2016), “HIV infection does not resolve and give rise to protective immunity against subsequent expo-sure” (p. 2922).  As an infectious disease, the feasibility of a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine still requires much research.  Safrit et. al (2016) states, “more than 250 HIV vaccine Phase I and II clinical trials have been conducted in more than 30 countries” (p.2922).

Reference

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (2018). HIV: Basic statistics.  Retrieved from:https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/statistics.html

Safrit, J. T., Fast, P. E., Gieber, L., Kuipers, H., Dean, H. J., & Koff, W. C. (2016). Status of vaccine research and development of vaccines for HIV-1. Vaccine, 34(26), 2921-2925. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.02.074

Response Two

I needed to chose between two diseases HIV or Ebola. I chose Ebola since HIV actually preventable while Ebola is not that much of a preventable disease. Some places such as West Africa, Ebola outbreaks toke thousands of peoples’ lives. The main carriers of Ebola are bats and they can infect humans by direct or indirect contact. Once a person is infected it takes 2-21 day before symptoms occur such as diarrhea, vomiting, weakness and if untreated hemorrhagic fever. Ebola virus can take a person’s life very fast and it can  spread very fast to infect a lot of people at a short period of time. An experimental vaccine is created for the prevention of the disease but its effectiveness is yet unknown. In undeveloped countries people are more likely in the danger for big outbreaks such as Ebola because of the lack of finances and unavailable basic hygiene needs.

Reference

Eco Health Alliance, Ebola Virus, Retrieved from https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/2018/05/ebola?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9uWamuvP3gIVhjxpCh2ryAKbEAAYASAAEgK7zPD_BwE on November 12, 2018