Auto accidents: #10 cause of death worldwide

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Fraggle Rocker

Staff member
According to today's Washington Post, traffic injuries kill more people than malaria. (I've oversimplified the names of some of the causes.)

Rank...Cause.......................Deaths Worldwide (Annual)
1.........Heart attack.............7.2 million
2.........Stroke......................5.5 million
3.........Pneumonia...............3.9 million
4.........AIDS.........................2.7 million
5.........Pulmonary disease....2.7 million
6.........Perinatal conditions..2.5 million
7.........Diarrhea...................1.9 million
8.........Tuberculosis.............1.5 million
9.........Lung cancer..............1.3 million
10.......Road traffic injuries..1.2 million
11.......Diabetes...................1.0 million
12.......Malaria.....................0.9 million

Should we be ashamed of ourselves because our own invention is so deadly? Or should we be proud of ourselves because we have reduced the mortality from so many "natural" causes, to the point that our own invention even shows up on the chart?

After all, a mere 60-70 years ago, for a span of five or six years, 12 million people were killed every year by war, another of our "inventions" and a cause which isn't even on the chart anymore.
 
I'd vote for not proud. Not because the invention is deadly, but because we cannot be careful/responsible enough. I hear that most car accidents are avoidable, I don't know what the percent is, but I would bet it is in the high 90s.
 
Wow that list constitutes twice the population of the Netherlands... :eek:

Almost anything is a deadly weapon in the hands of an imbecile.
 
I didn't think this would be so high on the list!!

7.........Diarrhea...................1.9 million

Better get Pepto!
 
shorty_37 said:
I didn't think this would be so high on the list!! #7 -- Diarrhea -- 1.9 million.
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Dysentery is a huge problem in the Third World. It's a major factor in their high infant mortality rate. Lack of sewers = contaminated water supply.
Better get Pepto!
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Patent medicine doesn't cure that kind of diarrhea. My wife got it twice on a single trip to Mexico. Had to go to the hospital and stay overnight with an IV.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
Dysentery is a huge problem in the Third World. It's a major factor in their high infant mortality rate. Lack of sewers = contaminated water supply.Patent medicine doesn't cure that kind of diarrhea. My wife got it twice on a single trip to Mexico. Had to go to the hospital and stay overnight with an IV.
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Sounds like a lovely vacation :( I have heard alot of ppl getting sick when on holidays in such places. Don't you have to get all kinds of shots now before heading out on Vacation.
 
shorty_37 said:
Sounds like a lovely vacation.
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We were in Mexico for a month and she was only sick for two days, so she was philosophical about it. We had some real fun there. In both cases we looked back and realized she had thoughtlessly consumed a bit of tap water. My philosophy was to build up some immunity the way the locals do, by brushing my teeth with it, etc. She brushed her teeth with bottled water and practically taped her mouth shut in the shower, so she had no immunity.
I have heard alot of ppl getting sick when on holidays in such places. Don't you have to get all kinds of shots now before heading out on Vacation.
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There's no preventive for dysentery because it's caused by amoebae rather than bacteria. Much larger animals and antibiotics don't kill them. You basically have to poison them like you do other large parasites like worms and fleas. I don't know how people who live there and drink the tap water build up their immunity to the amoeba infection. Perhaps Sam will log on and explain it to us.
 
i wonder what percentage of the world's pop owns a car of some sort? and what the numbers would be per world capita... i think it might go higher on the list...
 
Fraggle:

On amoebic dysentery

1. Infected people who recover are immune to reinfection

2. Recovery depends on the immune system.

Entamoeba histolytica is the parasitic infection that causes amoebic dysentery.

Diverse mammals such as dogs and cats can become infected but are not thought to contribute significantly to transmission. The active (trophozoite) stage exists only in the host and in fresh loose feces; cysts survive outside the host in water, soils and on foods, especially under moist conditions on the latter. When cysts are swallowed they cause infections by excysting (releasing the trophozoite stage) in the digestive tract.
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The immunity is due to a humoral response which releases IgA antibodies that prevent the parasite from attaching to the mucosal layer of the intestine. These antibodies also possibly prevent reinfection

Intestinal infection with the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica elicits a local immune response with rising of specific secretory IgA (sIgA) antibodies detectable in several compartments associated to mucosa. Anti-amoebic sIgA antibodies have been reported in faeces, saliva, bile and breast milk from dysenteric patients and research trying to elucidate their role in protection has recently intensified. IgA antibodies inhibit the in vitro adherence of E. histolytica trophozoites to epithelial cell monolayers by recognizing several membrane antigens, including the galactose-binding lectin (Gal-lectin), main surface molecule involved in adherence, and the serine and cystein-rich proteins, all of them potential vaccine candidates. In fact, the presence of sIgA anti-Gal lectin in faeces of patients recovered from amoebic liver abscess (ALA) was associated with immunity to E. dispar.
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Link
 
S.A.M. said:
On amoebic dysentery: Infected people who recover are immune to reinfection.
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I see. So that's why I didn't get it when she did. I had gotten it on a month-long trip to Mexico about ten years previously. Fortunately I wasn't as debilitated as she was and I just bought some Entero-Vioform at the nearest pharmacy. I was comfortable in 6 hours and ready to resume activity in 24.

So now I'm immune. Cool!

But wait... Then how did she come down with it twice during the same trip? The incidents were about two weeks apart.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
I see. So that's why I didn't get it when she did. I had gotten it on a month-long trip to Mexico about ten years previously. Fortunately I wasn't as debilitated as she was and I just bought some Entero-Vioform at the nearest pharmacy. I was comfortable in 6 hours and ready to resume activity in 24.

So now I'm immune. Cool!

But wait... Then how did she come down with it twice during the same trip? The incidents were about two weeks apart.
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Are you certain it was dysentery both times?

Maybe she did not recover fully the first time?

Just checked. Immunity to reinfection is mediated by the production of the gut IgA antilectin antibody. Or...

...naturally acquired immunity could be mediated by antibodies to a different amebic antigen(s), with the IgA antilectin antibodies representing a surrogate marker for the presence of mucosal immunity to that antigen.
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http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/322046?cookieSet=1

Perhaps there are individual differences in this.
 
2 points:

1. World population growth is 77 millions annually, which is still twice the summary of the list.

2. In the USA something like 50K die on the road (compared to less than 100 executed) and about 6000 of it are teenagers (compared to 3000 at 9/11)
 
Syzygys said:
2 points:

1. World population growth is 77 millions annually, which is still twice the summary of the list.

2. In the USA something like 50K die on the road (compared to less than 100 executed) and about 6000 of it are teenagers (compared to 3000 at 9/11)
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they should send the U.S. marines after people who are in car accidents. LOL
 
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