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[264]Ethnographic example: The biomedical model has been critical in the development of our country. One of the manyinfluences it has had was treating tuberculosis, a life threatening infectious disease. In 1880, after studying the diseasescientist could confirm it was contagious. Even before antibiotics this helped to dramatically decrease the number ofpeople that died by using quarantining and sanitizing methods. In the mid 20th century, when antibiotics werediscovered, an effective cure for the disease was developed. Many strains have become resistant to certain drugshowever, and the medical field has been forced to develop several ways to fight the disease.ImmunizationThe term immunization refers to rendering an organism immune to a specific communicable disease (1).Immunizations work by triggering the human body to produce antibodies that will help fight a particular disease. Theantibody response is created by injecting a small amount of either a dead or live virus, (depending on the virus) intothe person receiving the immunization in order to initialize a immune system response to the virus (2). Therefore inthe future if the person who was immunized was exposed to the virus, he or she would already have the antibodies tofend off the virus. Along with the introduction and transmission of many new complex diseases, population growth andthe globalization of medicine has brought about the eradication of many previously devastating disorders, includingsmall pox and polio, through wider availability of immunizations. Many parents in Western countries routinelyschedule immunizations for their children to prevent them from contracting a specific communicable disease. Whilemany vaccinations are routine and readily available only in developed nations, the continued globalization ofmedicine will eventually have a dramatic effect on the improvement of health care in developing countries.[265][266]There is a great deal of controversy over vaccination. Issues over the morality, ethics, necessity and safety has ledsome parents to keep their children from being vaccinated. Opponents of vaccines claim that they are dangerous,ineffective or infringe on personal rights.And example of this is the current debate over whether or not certain vaccines cause autism in children. There is asmall but dedicated group of doctors who claim that vaccines may be linked to the onset of autism in children. As aresult many parents are insisting their children be exempt from the mandatory vaccines although there are no medicalfindings which prove the link between the two. [267]Globalization and HealthEpidemiologic TransitionsNew Infectious Diseases A disease that emerges within a population that is new or the number of infectious cases within a population orgeographic area rapidly increases. Since 1940 over 300 new infectious diseases have been discovered,some of the most well known being severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), methicillin-resistant staph(MRSA), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Many drug-resistant strains of diseases are becoming
more common and 71% of these new infectious diseases start in the wildlife. As globalization increases,