Category Archives: Health

U.S. Abortion Laws by State

abortion laws by stateMost states (in orange) ban abortions during the last trimester of pregnancy when the fetus is already viable outside the womb.

However, since the state of Nebraska passed the most restrictive abortion law in a decade back in 2010 banning abortions after 20 weeks, 12 other states have passed similar laws as of March 2013. States that have passed even more restrictive abortion laws include North Dakota, that bans abortions afters 6 weeks of pregnancy, and Arkansas that bans abortions after 12 weeks.

For the interactive map, please visit: The Washington Post: The landscape of abortion bans, in one must-see map

 

The Effect of Immunizations on Infectious Diseases

inmunization in1900 and 2010Vaccinations have helped decrease the number of cases of infectious diseases in the last 110 years.

The bubble chart on the left shows the number of cases of infectious diseases in the United States in the 1900s. Even though diseases like measles, pertussis, mumps, and rubella that used to infect hundreds of thousands of people have not disappeared, nowadays they infect a much lower number of people thanks to the use of vaccines, as shown on the bubble chart on the right.

Source: Vaccines.com

 

Dependency on U.S. Funds to Fight AIDS by Country

dependence on us funds for hivThe United States provides 60% of the funding to fight the AIDS epidemic worldwide. The highest recipients of this funding are African nations. Other countries include Bolivia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Latin America depends on these funds to fight AIDS too. Latin American nations are recipients of up to 24% of funding from the US along with Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Source: The Nation: Who Depends Most on US Funds to Fight AIDS Epidemic

 

HIV Infection Rates Among Sex Workers by Country

sex workers rates of hivThe United States increased its funding to fight AIDS globally ten years ago. But, to qualify for funding, NGO’s had to enforce an explicit policy against prostitution. Female sex workers are 13.5 times more likely to have contracted the HIV virus, but because of the enforced anti-prostitution policy, female sex workers do not qualify to receive treatment.

This visualization by The Nation shows the rate of HIV infection among sex workers around the world. The highest rates of HIV infection are in Africa, with Swaziland at an staggering 70%.

 

Cervical Cancer and the HPV Vaccine in Developing Countries

HPV vaccine infographicAn estimated 275,000 women die of cervical cancer every year, with the majority of these deaths occurring in developing nations. Those deaths could be easily avoided by vaccinating women with the HPV vaccine.

Due to the high cost of the HPV vaccine, $100 per dose in developed nations, many women and girls in poor countries did not have access to it. Thanks to the GAVI Alliance, a partnership funded by governments as well as by corporate and private partners, this vaccine will be available in developing nations at a cost of $4.50 per dose. African countries soon beginning vaccination include Kenya, Ghana, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.

Source: GAVI Alliance: Millions of girls in developing countries to be protected against cervical cancer thanks to new HPV vaccine deals

 

Condom Imports by Country

One of our visitors asked us if we had statistics on condom imports so we started looking through our trade section and found the data somewhat hidden under the category “sheath contraceptives of vulcanised rubber”. Anyway, the graph below shows the top 25 countries ranked by the value of their condom imports. You may also want to check our data on condom exports. Are you surprised by the rankings?

Condom imports by country

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita by Country

Alcohol consumption per capita by country

According to the the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption by adults on a per-capita basis is highest primarily in Eastern Europe. The Global Status Status Report on Alcohol and Health ranks Moldova, Hungary, and Russia at the top of the list. In Moldova, adults consume 18.22 liters of alcohol per year through a combination of beer, wine and spirits. How much alcohol is consumed in your country?

Internet Connectivity in the United States

As part of the PBS series America Revealed, this aerial visualization shows the patterns of internet distribution in the United States. We can see that the regions with highest levels of internet connectivity include the Northeast, and parts of the South and Midwest, followed by the Pacific West.

For additional interesting aerial visualizations, such as the distribution of the unemployed, electricity network routes, public transportation paths, U.S. imports and exports of beef patterns, the distribution of the population in towns and cities, etc., visit: The Roosevelt’s – Aerial Data Visualisation Reveals Life In The United States.

Body Mass Index (BMI) by Country

A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 is usually considered a healthy body weight to height relationship. A BMI of 25 or higher indicates body weight not optimal for the height of a particular person.

This visualization published by Visual.ly, shows the different BMI values for adult men and women across the globe.

Countries with a healthy average BMI between 20 and 22.9 include several nations in Africa, Yemen, India, Thailand, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, among others.

Countries with an average BMI between 23 and 24.9 include several Asian nations, several European nations (including France), some nations in Africa, and Honduras.

Countries with an average BMI between 25 and 26.9 include Canada, Russia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, all Nordic countries, Spain, Portugal, and nations in the Middle East.

Countries with an average BMI of 27 and over  (the highest BMI range) include the United States, Kuwait, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Australia, UK, New Zealand, Greece, and Germany to name a few.

 

The Influenza Virus Visualized

Humans can be infected by influenza viruses types A,B, and C. Type A affects humans, birds, and pigs. Type B and C affect only humans. Type C is less severe than type A and it does not cause pandemics.

In this visualization by Information is Beautiful, we can see how the different strains of influenza virus affect humans, what is their origin, and how they are transmitted from pigs and from birds ultimately to humans.

Type A influenza is divided into H and N strains. The “swine flu” N1H1 killed 15,000 people worldwide in 2009-2010. The “bird flu” H5N1 strain, with a fatality rate of 60%, has killed 371 people as of 2013. The more recent H7N9 strain has killed thousand of pigs in China, with 8 human fatalities to date.