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As the western states of America were settled, pioneers often had to drink rancid water from ponds and other sources. This often resulted in chronic diarrhea, causing many cases of dehydration and death that could have been avoided if clean water had been available.
Interferon was scarce and expensive until 1980, when the interferon gene was inserted into bacteria using recombinant DNA technology, allowing for mass cultivation and purification from bacterial cultures.
Vaccines prevent between 2.5 and 4 million deaths every year.
More than 30% of American adults, and about 12% of children utilize health care approaches that were developed outside of conventional medicine.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all women age 65 years of age or older should be screened with bone densitometry.