Last Updated on February 24, 2022 by Neelam Singh
Quick Take
A social media post claims that there were only 7 diseases in 1891 and the number of diseases is soaring high now. We fact-checked and found this claim to be Half-true.
The Claim
A social media post shares the caption “Did you know that in 1891 there were only 7 diseases?” It further states “Here we are 120 years later when we have 10,000+ officially registered diseases, and new ones are constantly on the rise.”
Fact Check
Were there only 7 diseases in the 19th century?
No. There were only about seven diseases for which microscopic causes had been identified – for example, cholera and tuberculosis. But other diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and typhus were well-known even though their root causes had not yet been discovered.
Similarly, William Osler, founding professor of Johns Hopkins University, published a book in 1892 titled “Principles and Practice of Medicine.” The book’s table of contents references many more than seven diseases.
Are there 10,000 diseases in the world now?
Yes. The World Health Organization estimates there are more than 10,000 monogenic diseases, meaning they involve only one gene. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have referred to thousands of diseases.
Are diseases constantly increasing?
Yes. But, many diseases are identified now (and were undetected earlier) due to the improved ability to detect them and not because they are new diseases. Scientists say that the microbes living in and on humans and other animals play major roles in disease and health. The count of diseases today depends on the metric used.
Also, new infectious diseases are now discoverable because it is natural for new viruses, etc., to evolve. But at the same time, many diseases have declined massively e.g., polio, typhus, plague – and smallpox no longer exists as a wild disease.
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