The Transmission of Diseases from Livestock :: History Disease Health Medical Essays

The Transmission of Diseases from LivestockThe signs at the Philadelphia International Airport are bold and make a clear point. The bright, yellow billboards all unless(prenominal) shout Keep Foot and Mouth Disease out of America. Soon after seeing these signs upon accounting entry to the airport, travelers are greeted by customs agents who check credential and bags to insure that the traveler has not been prone to the disease on his journeys. Any traveler exhibiting the warning signs of an individual who carries the disease is quickly swept away- removed from the popular populace in order to prevent possible dispersion of the disease.The above precautions may seem extreme. Then again, the precautions may appear normal in a world that has quickly strengthened airport security in response to recent terrorist activities. Neither of these reactions to the security checks would be fully accurate. The security checks preventing free entrance by individuals who have come into contact with animals or areas that house animals abroad are an innovation designed to prevent the most common method for spreading disease. These precautions have been implemented in order to prevent the spread of diseases infecting livestock.Throughout the course of history, diseases have been the greatest killers of humans. In fact, the winners of most wars were simply the ones who proved less susceptible to the germs carried by the enemy (Diamond, p. 197). Diamond correctly points out, then, that diseases have been the largest shaper of history. For instance, what would the world look like now if the Native Americans had carried germs that were far more pie-eyed than the Spanish conquistadors? (p. 197)The diseases that have been the great molders of the human experience are very often and quite easily traced back to animals, specifically livestock. Food production was seen comparatively early in history of civilization as a better means for providing for a great number of people than th e hunter-gatherer model that was once the prime model of existence. The success of food production in maintenance of human life leads to a society which has become dependant on farming, ranching, and other ways of life that produce foods from animals. The increased number of individuals able to be supported by a society supported by agriculture serves as an weighty factor in the spreading of disease. The most common method for spread of disease is direct transmittance from the animals to the humans.