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The origins of human disease: a short story on "where diseases come from".

ABSTRACT: Most of public health is based on the working hypothesis that disease is caused by exposure to noxious factors in the external environment. While this approach has produced great successes in primary prevention, a general theory of the origins of human disease cannot be found in the textbooks of public health or epidemiology. This paper suggests that, in all its manifestations, disease is a reaction of the human organism to, and/or a failure to cope with, one or more unbalancing changes in its internal environment. These are caused by one or more unfavourable exchanges with the external environment and/or failures in the structural and functional design of the organism. In the final analysis, human disease is attributable to the dependence of organisms on a fundamentally hostile external environment and to unfortunate evolutionary legacies. While this sketch of a theory suggests that there will ultimately be some hard limits to primary prevention, it also helps in identifying possible new approaches to prevention, including interfering with disease mechanisms, and remedying human organisms' design failures.

SUBMITTER: Mackenbach JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2465528 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The origins of human disease: a short story on "where diseases come from".

Mackenbach Johan P JP

Journal of epidemiology and community health 20060101 1

Most of public health is based on the working hypothesis that disease is caused by exposure to noxious factors in the external environment. While this approach has produced great successes in primary prevention, a general theory of the origins of human disease cannot be found in the textbooks of public health or epidemiology. This paper suggests that, in all its manifestations, disease is a reaction of the human organism to, and/or a failure to cope with, one or more unbalancing changes in its i ...[more]

PMID: 16361459

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough total influenza vaccine doses available in the 2005/2006 influenza season were over 80 million, CDC received many reports of delayed and diminished vaccine shipments in October to November of 2005. To better understand the supply problems, CDC and partners surveyed several health care professional groups.MethodsSurveys were sent to representative samples of influenza vaccine providers including pediatricians, internists, federally qualified health centers, visiting nurse organizations, and all 64 state and other health departments receiving federal immunization funds directly. In November and December, 2005, providers were asked questions about their experience in ordering influenza vaccine, sources where orders were placed, proportion of orders received, and referral of patients to other vaccination sites.ResultsThe number of providers surveyed (median: 154; range: 64-308) and response rates (median: 62%; range: 51%-77%) varied among groups. Less than half of the providers in most groups placed a single order that was accepted (median: 31%; range: 8%-53%), and most placed multiple orders. Only 57% of federally qualified health centers and 60% of internists reported they received at least 40% of their orders by the middle of December; the other provider groups received a greater proportion of their orders. Most internists (80%) and federally qualified health centers (54%) reported that they had referred priority group patients to other locations to receive the influenza vaccine due to inadequate supplies. Vaccine providers who ordered only from Chiron received a lower proportion of their orders than providers that ordered from another source or ordered from multiple sources.ConclusionMost of the providers surveyed received only part of their orders by the middle of December. Disruptions in receipt of influenza vaccine during the fall of 2005 were due primarily to shortfalls in vaccine from Chiron and also due to delays and partial shipments from other distributors.

Dataset Information

The origins of human disease: a short story on "where diseases come from".

Publications

The origins of human disease: a short story on "where diseases come from".

Similar Datasets

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