Top Health Stories Of The Decade: From Human Genome To Swine Flu

As year 2009 is wrapping up and we are entering 2010 - the last year of the decade, it is time to look back and see what stories have shaped the health industry in a span of nine years. Here, we put together a list of health-related events, trends, people and news stories that made the headlines in the last nine years. So, without further due, here are the ten defining moments of the last decade that changed the way we think about health care and medicine.

1. Human Genome Project - The Map Of Human Genes Unveiled

The Human Genome Project began in year 2000 and three years later an entire human genome was completely sequenced -- all in all, 20,000-25,000 genes. The project cost a whopping three billion dollars to complete and became a major breakthrough in human ability to read genetic information. The complete genome sequencing made the study of genes that much easier - simply because it is hard, if not impossible, to study something you cannot read, arguably making Human Genome Project the most important medical research accomplishment of the decade.

2. SARS -  The First "Real" Flu Scare

Avian Influenza, H5N1, has bothered health authorities around the globe for a good portion of the decade. The reason? Avian Influenza was sufficiently different from all the strains of Influenza known to humans, and the threat of it turning into the next Spanish Flu was always high. It even had some prominent researchers say, "the world is teetering on the edge of a pandemic that could kill a large fraction of the human population." But it was another family of viruses -- a coronavirus that managed to cause a worldwide scare in 2003. It killed 774 people, but more importantly it made health officials throughout the world rethink public safety -- temperature monitors were installed in airports, masks became a norm, and quarantines turned into a routine procedure.

3. Superbugs And Antibiotic Resistance - The Danger That No One Sees

"Superbugs" became the catchword of this decade. But, how did regular bugs become "super-bugs"? The superbugs are the bacteria that became resistant to many or all antibiotics available on the market. Antibiotic resistance got researchers and doctors back to square one, trying to figure out how to treat deadly infections that were curable with simple antibiotics decades ago. But, superbugs have not always been this invincible. They are, in fact, your regular bugs that through a bunch of complicated biochemical and genetic processes acquired an ability to resist any kind of drug directed against them. But, why did that happen? Well, an irresponsible and  ubiquitous use of antibiotics is definitely to blame. People got so used to turning to antibiotics for every little cough and sneeze that bacteria simply learned how to resist the drugs they got constantly exposed to. Naturally, bugs are very adaptable. That is why they survived for billions of years. Moreover, the bacteria can "communicate" and swap genes, among which are the genes for antibiotic resistance. People who abuse antibiotics by taking them way too often, in a wrong way, or for non-bacteria related illnesses exposed bacteria in their system to the antibiotic, allowing the bugs to adapt. Eventually, bacteria become completely unresponsive to treatment, and the infection cannot be treated. The problem became so obvious in the last decade, pharmaceutical companies abandoned the idea of investing more money into discovering new antibiotics, because resistance would take less than a year to render a new antibiotic useless. This makes the issue of superbugs and antibiotic resistance the third most important story of the decade.

4. Swine Flu - The Scare That Never Realized

The hype was unbelievable. But, was the panic that the swine flu caused ever justified? To date, the H1N1 virus has not killed more people than a regular season flu. Yet, the alarm went up when the World Health Organization declared swine flu a pandemic in June of this year. The W.H.O. had all the reasons to declare swine flu a pandemic: the virus was a novel combination of genes, so very few people had the immunity. However, it turned out that unlike other pandemic viruses, such as Spanish Flu in 1918, the swine flu virus was not very virulent, i.e.: it did not do a lot of damage once in the system. And, that factor was the defining feature of this pandemics. Had the virus actually turned virulent, the swine flu might have become the top health story of the century.

5. Stem Cells - Bush Vs. Obama

Over this decade, researchers recognized the potential of stem cell research and treatment for some of the nastiest diseases known to humans. However, the leader in stem cell research -- the United States of America prohibited manipulating stem cells until March of 2009 when U.S. President Barack Obama came to power and former President George W. Bush left. Since 2004, U.S. Congress and the House of Representatives have lobbied for the lift of the ban on stem cell research, but all the bills that passed through Senate were vetoed one by one by than President George W. Bush. But, with the arrival of Democrats at the White House, the view on stem cell research changed dramatically. Now, as experiments involving stem cells are being resumed in the United States, it remains to be seen how the medical research will take off in the second decade of the 21st century.

6. Anthrax Letters And Bioterrorism - The Deadly Tactics

The September 11th attacks in 2001 shook the conscience of millions of people around the world, but the threat of terrorism did not end with the collapse of the Twin Towers. In fact, for months afterward the American public was kept in a state of absolute terror as letters filled with deadly spores of Bacillus anthracis, a bacterial agent that causes Anthrax were mailed randomly around the country. Five people died and seventeen people were infected. But, the letters had an element of unexpectedness that terrorized people. As soon as the Anthrax scare happened, politicians started talking about completely destroying the remaining stocks of the smallpox virus that was eradicated in 1976. Given that most people inhabiting Earth do not have immunity to smallpox anymore, the use of smallpox as a bioterrorism weapon could have had dire consequences for human population.

7. Health Care Reform - History Turning Legislature

This was one of the top news stories of 2009. President Obama came into power promising a just and equal health care system that would end the dismal situation that the American health care system finds itself in. Numerous attempts have been launches into the past to try to make the U.S. health care system more inclusive, but the task seems to be monumental, and will definitely be one of the key tests of President Obama's ability to lead the change he promised.

8. HPV Vaccine - In The Decade Of Anti-Vaccine Sentiment

This past decade has seen people's trust in vaccine decline substantially. The horror stories reported from around the world of the life altering side effects from vaccine shots have completely public opinion on vaccines. Once regarded as lifesavers, vaccines are losing their popularity to the point that people choose not to vaccinate their children, the most vulnerable demographic of all. One of the most controversial vaccines of the decade was the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines -- Gardasil and Cervarix. HPV is a virus that is sexually transmitted and leads to different kinds of cancers in both men and women. In 2006, new HPV vaccines have hit the market, yet many argued that the HPV vaccines promoted promiscuity among young people. The debate is still raging. But, the question of how much media influences people's perception about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines has been raised.

9. Mental Illness - Acceptance, Prozac And Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

One of the reassuring health trends of the past decade has been the change of attitude toward mental illness. Over the decade, mental illness gained more medical ground and acceptance as a serious health condition. More people have started getting treatment for mental illness as it is becoming more of a norm to talk about it and seek help. At the same time, the stress levels that many people are experiencing have gone up, making antidepressants like Prozac blockbuster drugs in a multimillion dollar industry. Another side of mental illness that gained exposure was the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the United States, a country that has been in the state of war for much of the decade, the PTSD is becoming more and more prevalent - 7.8% among adult Americans.

10. Melamine Crisis - The Question Of Integrity

In September of 2008, Sanlu Group had to recall its baby formula contaminated with melamine, a chemical polymer rich in nitrogen that can mimic protein. Melamine has been used by the company to artificially increase protein content in baby food. Consumption of melamine by infants in China caused children to develop kidney problems, and in some cases kidney failure. It was estimated that at least six children died and 294,000 got sick from consuming melamine tainted milk products. Some of the culprits behind the melamine scandal received death sentences in China. The melamine scandal became an important health-related event in the past decades because it got health authorities to re-think over how different products are being tested for safety. Public health emergencies like the melamine scandal put the attention back on regulating bodies, such as the Food And Drug Administration (FDA), to ensure that drugs and products reaching markets are safe.