Modern medicine has done much to erradicate and cure disease, but it has failed in some areas. Of those areas, at least one disease that cannot be cured is suffered by many people in the world every year – the common cold. This is a list of the top ten incurable diseases. As always, click the images for a larger view. NOTE: There are no graphic images in this post.
10. Ebola
Ebola belongs to the Filoviridae family and triggers a severe, often lethal hemorrhagic fever. Outbreaks have hit both primates—like gorillas and chimpanzees—and humans, producing fever, rash, and massive bleeding. In people, the death rate swings between 50 % and 90 %.
The virus got its name from the Ebola River in the northern Congo basin, where it first surfaced in 1976. That year saw deadly spikes in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sudan, and another blowout hit Zaire again in 1995. Ebola’s close cousin is the Marburg virus, discovered in 1967; together they’re the only Filoviridae members known to cause epidemic disease in humans. A third strain, Ebola Reston, sparked an outbreak among lab monkeys in Reston, Virginia, but appears harmless to people.
9. Polio
Polio, short for poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infection that attacks the nervous system. It typically starts with fever, headache, nausea, fatigue, and muscle aches, and can progress to permanent paralysis of limbs, the throat, or the chest. More than half of all polio cases occur in children under five, yet true paralysis affects fewer than 1 % of those infected.
Between 5 % and 10 % of those exposed show only the mild, flu‑like symptoms, while over 90 % remain completely asymptomatic. Before vaccines, hundreds of thousands of children fell victim each year. Thanks to widespread immunisation since the 1960s, polio has vanished from most of the globe, persisting only in a handful of African and South Asian nations, where roughly 1,000–2,000 youngsters still endure paralysis annually, the majority in India.
8. Lupus Erythematosus
Lupus, formally lupus erythematosus, is an autoimmune disorder that provokes chronic inflammation across various body parts. It comes in three main flavors: discoid, systemic, and drug‑induced.
Discoid lupus confines itself to the skin, producing distinct red patches topped with gray‑brown scales on the face, neck, or scalp. About 10 % of those with discoid lupus eventually develop the more aggressive systemic form.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common type, capable of attacking virtually any organ—skin, kidneys, joints, heart, gut, brain, and serous membranes. No two patients share the exact same symptom set, and the disease waxes and wanes, flaring up and then retreating into remission.
7. Influenza
Influenza, commonly called the flu or grippe, is an acute viral assault on the upper or lower respiratory tract, bringing fever, chills, muscle aches, and varying degrees of head and abdominal soreness.
The illness stems from several orthomyxovirus strains—types A, B, and C. While they cause similar symptoms, they are antigenically unrelated, meaning immunity to one type offers no protection against the others. Type A fuels the massive flu pandemics, type B sparks smaller, localized outbreaks, and type C plays a negligible role in human disease. Between pandemics, the viruses constantly evolve through antigenic drift, and occasionally a dramatic antigenic shift occurs when a virus swaps a genome segment, spawning a brand‑new subtype that the population has little to no immunity against.
6. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Creutzfeldt‑Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disorder that attacks the central nervous system. It appears worldwide at roughly one case per million people, though certain groups—like Libyan Jews—show a slightly higher incidence.
Typically striking adults aged 40–70, CJD begins with vague psychiatric or behavioral changes, then rapidly progresses to dementia, visual disturbances, and involuntary movements. No cure exists, and death usually follows within a year of symptom onset.
First described in the 1920s by German neurologists Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and Alfons Maria Jakob, CJD belongs to the family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, sharing a lineage with the human disease kuru and the animal condition scrapie, all characterized by a spongy, hole‑filled pattern of brain tissue destruction.
5. Diabetes
Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism where the body either cannot produce enough insulin or fails to respond properly, leading to elevated blood glucose levels.
Two major forms exist. Type I (formerly insulin‑dependent diabetes mellitus) usually emerges in childhood as an autoimmune attack that destroys pancreatic beta cells, making daily insulin injections essential.
Type II (formerly non‑insulin‑dependent diabetes mellitus) typically appears after age 40, driven by sluggish insulin secretion or reduced cellular sensitivity, and is linked to genetics and obesity, especially central obesity. Management can involve diet, exercise, oral medications, and occasionally insulin.
4. HIV/AIDS
AIDS, short for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is the final stage of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a transmissible pathogen that gradually dismantles the immune system, leaving the host vulnerable to opportunistic infections and certain cancers.
The epidemic exploded in the 1980s, especially across Africa where the virus likely originated. Urbanisation, long‑distance travel, shifting sexual norms, and intravenous drug use all accelerated its spread. According to a 2004 UN report, about 38 million people live with HIV, roughly 5 million acquire the infection each year, and around 3 million die annually; since 1981, an estimated 20 million have perished.
3. Asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung disorder where inflamed airways become hyper‑reactive, leading to episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness that can range from mild inconvenience to life‑threatening attacks.
Triggers include dust mites, animal dander, pollen, pollution, cigarette smoke, certain medications, weather changes, and exercise, with stress often worsening symptoms. About half of cases arise before age 10, with boys more frequently affected; in adults the gender split evens out.
Childhood asthma often ties to inherited allergy susceptibility, while adult‑onset can stem from allergens, viral infections, aspirin sensitivity, or exercise. Adults with asthma may also suffer nasal polyps or sinusitis.
2. Cancer
Cancer encompasses over 100 distinct diseases characterised by uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. In developed nations, one in three people will be diagnosed, making it a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Since the mid‑20th century, advances in early detection, targeted surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have reduced death rates in many countries. Ongoing progress in cell biology, genetics, and biotechnology continues to deepen our understanding of what goes wrong in cancer cells, fueling ever‑more effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies.
1. The Common Cold
The common cold is an acute viral infection that begins in the upper respiratory tract and can spread to lower structures, sometimes prompting secondary infections of the eyes or middle ears.
Over 100 different agents can cause a cold, including parainfluenza, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and reoviruses, but rhinoviruses are the most frequent culprits.
The term ‘cold’ stems from the chilly sensation that often heralds symptom onset, a misconception now known to be unrelated to actual temperature. The virus spreads from infected individuals—not from cold weather, damp feet, or drafts—and can be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers. Incubation lasts one to four days, with viral shedding beginning before symptoms appear and peaking during the symptomatic phase.