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Dr Espinola-Klein’s findings (Greater exposure to viruses increases
risk of heart disease) suggest other avenues of potential research. Each
of the factors noted below are also markers for other well-evidenced
poverty-related cardiovascular risk factors. However, if communicable
causes of heart and other chronic diseases can be identified, eradication
therapy may benefit patients many years post infection.
In the UK, cardiovascular mortality is highest among those
populations where the majority of those aged 50+ grew up in homes without
indoor plumbing, or with one sink for drinking water, handwashing, food
preparation, dish-rinsing, body-washing and clothes-rinsing. These include
not only immigrants from developing countries, but also most pre-1950
residents of UK social housing, or older small terrace, back-to-back,
tenement and cottage housing.
Today’s pensioners often had sufficient siblings to necessitate
childhood same-sex bed sharing. Childhood diarrhoea and vomiting in shared
beds, vomiting into the sink by gastric ulcer/cancer sufferers, lack of
hand-washing facilities near the toilet, nappy-rinsing, and more prevalent
bed bug, lice, head-lice and tick bites, suggest a range of possible UK
vectors for communicable causes of chronic diseases.
Pre-1950 UK home environments suggest research into organisms that
have UK indigenous species, and whose tropical cousins are known to cause
long-term tissue damage, possibly by the proposed UK Centre for Infectious
Diseases.
[No competing interests]
Competing interests:
No competing interests
22 January 2002
Simant G Westley
Public Health Scientist
North Wales Health Authority, c/o IMSCAR, University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK, LL57 2UW
Exposure to possible communicable causes of chronic disease may be widespread among the over 50’s.
Dear Sirs,
Dr Espinola-Klein’s findings (Greater exposure to viruses increases
risk of heart disease) suggest other avenues of potential research. Each
of the factors noted below are also markers for other well-evidenced
poverty-related cardiovascular risk factors. However, if communicable
causes of heart and other chronic diseases can be identified, eradication
therapy may benefit patients many years post infection.
In the UK, cardiovascular mortality is highest among those
populations where the majority of those aged 50+ grew up in homes without
indoor plumbing, or with one sink for drinking water, handwashing, food
preparation, dish-rinsing, body-washing and clothes-rinsing. These include
not only immigrants from developing countries, but also most pre-1950
residents of UK social housing, or older small terrace, back-to-back,
tenement and cottage housing.
Today’s pensioners often had sufficient siblings to necessitate
childhood same-sex bed sharing. Childhood diarrhoea and vomiting in shared
beds, vomiting into the sink by gastric ulcer/cancer sufferers, lack of
hand-washing facilities near the toilet, nappy-rinsing, and more prevalent
bed bug, lice, head-lice and tick bites, suggest a range of possible UK
vectors for communicable causes of chronic diseases.
Pre-1950 UK home environments suggest research into organisms that
have UK indigenous species, and whose tropical cousins are known to cause
long-term tissue damage, possibly by the proposed UK Centre for Infectious
Diseases.
[No competing interests]
Competing interests: No competing interests