Changing methods of dealing with disease (1 Viewer)

lemnok

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Here are my thoughts, please critique them:

The shift from treatment/control to management/prevention

Examples of the shift from treatment/control to management/prevention include:
GM plants, such as Bt cotton, to kill caterpillar pests
Quarantine, which seeks to prevent a disease from entering the country in the first instance
Vaccination
Improvements in education, which aim to spread awareness of how to avoid contracting certain diseases, e.g. STI's such as HIV
A greater emphasis by doctors, governments, health campaigns, etc. to improvement lifestyle/nutrition to prevent nutritional and environmental diseases

However, there is still a an emphasis on treating and controlling diseases, and examples include:
Insecticide use - however, insect resistance has made preventative measures increasingly important
Antibiotics - these are generally used for treatment rather than prevention; the use of antibiotics has only been growing, and this has given rise to antibiotic resistance; this has made it more necessary to try to prevent bacterial infection from occurring
Other medical intervention e.g., surgery are a form of treatment that has developed with time, demonstrating how prevention is not always possible, and therefore how treatments must develop as well

Also, drugs such as anti-malarial drugs like chloroquine have been used prophylactically to prevent malaria occurring in a person, as well as a way of treating people who have already contracted the disease.
 

pikachu975

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One example - Instead of treating or controlling malaria e.g. through chloroquine, there is now a focus on management and prevention with mosquito nets, drainage of swamps, and spraying of DDT.
 

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