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recurve boy
Skeptic Friend
Australia
53 Posts |
 Posted - 10/19/2008 : 19:05:36
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I was looking at this
http://www.xdrtb.org/
and to refresh my memory on TB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
| In addition, a rising number of people in the developed world are contracting tuberculosis because their immune systems are compromised by immunosuppressive drugs, substance abuse, or AIDS. |
And I was thinking, criticisms of Abstinence Only sex ed. always look at how it is ineffective at curbing unwanted teen pregnancies or whatever.
What happens if such ineffective policies are promoted in developing countries, where the lack of correct education doesn't just involve babies, but the spread of diseases? E.g. Anti-condom stance -> increased spread of AIDS -> large population with weakened immune systems -> spread of other diseases that take advantage of this.
Are there any case studies?
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Siberia
SFN Addict
Brazil
2322 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 06:57:45 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by recurve boy
And I was thinking, criticisms of Abstinence Only sex ed. always look at how it is ineffective at curbing unwanted teen pregnancies or whatever.
What happens if such ineffective policies are promoted in developing countries, where the lack of correct education doesn't just involve babies, but the spread of diseases? E.g. Anti-condom stance -> increased spread of AIDS -> large population with weakened immune systems -> spread of other diseases that take advantage of this.
Are there any case studies?
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I live in Brazil, a developing country. I can say that here, at least, there is a massive effort promoting condoms to prevent diseases and pregnancies. It intensifies during holidays or other such times (esp. around Carnaval, when people tend to get... wilder...). Most, if not all, of those efforts are by the state. There are places where you can get birth control and condoms for free.
Here our main problem isn't people promoting abstinence-only (and the few times some religious person does it, it's usually ineffective - louder voices protest against it), but sheer lack of information and ignorance; or people know they should but don't. We don't have sex ed, as to speak (at least I didn't; these days, schools might have it, but I doubt it); it's within the biology classes, under human reproduction.
I have no data to back me up (yet), but from what I see I'd say our problem isn't teaching abstinence-only, but not teaching anything at all. A great part of our population is poor, has no access to quality education, basic sanitation, healthy diets, etc., which combines to spread the diseases. I'd guess substance abuse is far bigger a threat than AIDS, here, too.
Edit: I forgot to add: I'd guess the outbreak of disease has less to do with abstinence-only sex ed, or lack thereof, than with the lack of basic sanitation, prophylaxis, information and medical care in developing countries. As Simon said, I doubt sexually transmitted diseases have any tangible effect other than, well, sexually transmitted diseases. Brazil isn't so bad in that aspect, in general, but it is a problem. |
"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa
"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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| Edited by - Siberia on 10/20/2008 11:39:08 |
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Simon
SFN Regular
USA
1992 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 07:44:00 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by recurve boy
I was looking at this
http://www.xdrtb.org/
and to refresh my memory on TB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
| In addition, a rising number of people in the developed world are contracting tuberculosis because their immune systems are compromised by immunosuppressive drugs, substance abuse, or AIDS. |
And I was thinking, criticisms of Abstinence Only sex ed. always look at how it is ineffective at curbing unwanted teen pregnancies or whatever.
What happens if such ineffective policies are promoted in developing countries, where the lack of correct education doesn't just involve babies, but the spread of diseases? E.g. Anti-condom stance -> increased spread of AIDS -> large population with weakened immune systems -> spread of other diseases that take advantage of this.
Are there any case studies?
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I don't think so.
It is easy to realize that, when a HIV positive patient breaks out with TB, the virus is ultimately the cause of the the outbreak.
Now, the fact that these HIV positive are undergoing a very active infection with TB, they are more likely to spread the bacteria around and hence, increasing the risk of outbreak even in HIV negative patients.
It makes sense, but is very difficult to demonstrate on a case by case basis.
Furthermore, it is, probably, a rather minor increase. Other factors, as you point out, are also active, drugs, stress, the development of antibiotic resistances as well as a decrease in vaccines in recent years... |
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Carl Sagan - 1996 |
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Fallout of poor sex education?
