MIMM 413 Lecture : jan 9 2012- dr. matlashewski.docx

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There are differences in diseases between tropical and temperate regions, as well as in the old world vs the new world. During the agricultural revolution we started living closer together, as well as closer to animals (animals were domesticated as well). During the industrial revolution, people started living in larger populations in the city. So as humans have evolved to live in different conditions, pathogens have co-evolved. Five stages in the evolution of animal pathogens into human pathogens. Stage 1 diseases are diseases only in animals; they never infect humans. Stage 2 diseases are in animals, but can sometimes get into humans and cause serious diseases (eg: rabies; it does not spread from person to person however because it is spread by bite). Another example is h5n1 (present in chickens, once it gets into people it kills ~50%, but it is not spread from person to person).