Although there is little news of it today, Diphtheria was one of the most common diseases found in the Eastern Region especially in Europe. Known as the “Strangling angel of children” it caused the death of many children by suffocation in Europe during the 17th century. Although today it is very rare to find this disease in the United States, this disease is commonly found in places where there is low hygiene or an unclean environment. Due to the modern understanding of the transmission and composition along with the development of a vaccine; it has brought us a long way of avoiding this disease.
Diphtheria is caused by a pathogenic (disease causing) bacterium called Corynebacterium diphtheria also known as C. diphtheria (Nordqvist, 2004-2014). This bacterium usually effects the upper respiratory tract where inflammation is contracted. In a serious matter or event, this pathogen can be deadly once it enters the blood stream that leads to major parts of the body which includes the heart, brain and the nerves. This disease is also contagious and can be contracted by inhaling ultramicroscopic solid or liquid particles known as aerosolized secretions, direct contact with secretions or skin ulcer, and through contaminated items such as household or personal items.
There are two types of Diphtheria which is cutaneous (skin) and respiratory. Respiratory diphtheria involves areas such as the nose, throat and tonsils, and cutaneous diphtheria involves the skin (Government, 2012). Respiratory diphtheria is extremely uncommon here in the United States due to the large vast of immunization. Respiratory diphtheria is usually known as a sore throat in which the pathogen clings itself to a membrane of the tonsils, larynx and pharynx. It then ca...
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...ntaminates and spread the disease any further. Once the patient has been clear of Diphtheria only then can they be allowed to leave the isolation ward and the hospital.
Due to technologies and scientific methods of today’s healthcare, there are many ways to prevent Diphtheria from occurring. The best way to prevent this disease is to make sure, that everyone has an up-to-date vaccination shot. DTap is a vaccine that helps the body to build up protection against the diphtheria toxin that is released throughout the body (Prevention, 2013). This shot is given to children around the ages of four to six months and then a booster shot is given later on. Once they are an adult, a booster shot known as Tdap and Td is given in a single dose and it is recommended every ten years. By keeping up with vaccination shots, it can help maintain effective control in our environment.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious and acute respiratory disease caused by an aerobic Gram negative encapsulated coco-bacillus bacterium, Bordetella pertussis. It is a strict human pathogen with no known animal or environmental reservoirs and an air-borne disease. On inhalation, Bordetella pertussis colonizes the ciliated cells of the bronchio-epithelium to cause disease characterised by; epithelial damage, hyper mucus secretion, pulmonary edema and paroxysmal coughing. It is often accompanied by pneumonia, otitis edema, seizures, post-tussive vomiting and encephalopathy (1).
Only then can the patient be transferred or discharged from the care of the attending doctor or nurse, until that is completed the patient is the treating doctor or nurse’s responsibility. The health professional has to remember their
North American children are now the most vaccinated on earth. Children receive about thirty-three doses of ten vaccinations by the age of five years. Not only do children need a separate vaccine for most diseases (hepatitis B, polio, Hib, and chicken pox are single vaccines; DTaP and MMR are multiple) but they generally need more than one dose of each vaccine. Because of the many vaccines needed, vaccination is an extremely controversial topic in the United States Today. Whatever side of the aisle you may fall with regard to your opinion about vaccination, one thing is for certain: the choice to vaccinate or not is a decision that has the potential to greatly impact the health of you and most importantly, your children for the rest of their lives.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed immunizations as the number one greatest public health achievement in the 20th century. This attainment towards the goal of health and safety is a huge success for not only our country but from the global perspective as well. Immunizations help to prevent illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The World Health Organization states that global vaccination coverage has remained consistent for the past few years; for example, the percentage of infants fully vaccinated against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis has held secure at 83%. Programs for population-wide vaccinations have helped with the annihilation of polio in America since the late 1970’s, the eradication of smallpox, and the control of numerous other infectious diseases in the United States and other parts of the world.
Today eighty percent of infants are being vaccinated for diphtheria; pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, tetanus and tuberculosis (Landrige 2000). This percentage is up from about five percent in the mid-1970s; however, the death toll from these infections is roughly three million annually. Millions still die from infectious diseases for which immunizations are non-existent, unreliable, or too costly. Vaccines all function with the same idea in mind, priming the immune system to swiftly destroy specific disease-causing agents, or pathogens, before the agents can multiply enough to cause symptoms (Landrige 2000). Classically, this priming has been achieved by presenting the immune system with whole viruses or bacteria that have been killed or made too weak to proliferate much (Landrige 2000).
The bacterium Bordetella Pertussis causes Pertussis also known as the whooping-cough. This is an extremely contagious respiratory tract infection which causes the lining of the air way to become inflamed and damaged. This leads to an excess production of mucous which irritates the respiratory tract and causes the cough element of the disease. Pertussis can cause other serious illnesses and is usually spread through coughing or sneezing while in close contact with other people who then breathe in the bacteria causing disease. You can get Pertussis more than once sometimes even years apart at any age. If you have not completed the primary vaccination series you are at higher risk for severe illness. “Since the 1980’s, the number of reported Pertussis cases has gradually increased in the United States. In 2005, over 25,000 cases of Pertussis cases were reported in the United States, the highest number of reported cases since 1959. Approximately 60 percent of the cases were in adolescents and adults, a result of decreasing immunity in this population” (Department of Health, n.d.).
Vaccination is widely considered one of the most successful medical attainments of modern civilization and a cost-effective public health tool. It prevents citizens from acquiring serious diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, and diphtheria. These diseases were common in children generations ago, but the mortality rate is decreasing now because of immunization. Moreover, smallpox was the critical disease until two centuries ago, where millions died from it every year. After the invention of vaccination for smallpox, it was wiped out. Vaccines are made from the same germ that causes diseases. For instance, the chickenpox vaccine is made from the chickenpox virus (“Vaccine”). However, the virus in the vaccine is killed, and it is introduced to the immune system through booster shots. The immune system responds to the vaccine same as the real disease by making antibodies. Hence, if a child is
Tetanus is a highly preventable disease if a simple vaccination schedule is followed starting at birth. The vaccination for Tetanus was originally developed in the 1920’s and become a normal part of childhood vaccinations after World War II. DTap is the recommended vaccine for infants; it is a three in one vaccine, containing Tetanus, Pertussis, and diphtheria (Conrad, 2014). After the initial vaccination, a booster at the age of 7 is recommended, then every seven years after the age of 19 with the Td vaccination (Vyas,
Immunisation is the safest and most effective way of protecting against disease. The first program of immunisation in Australia was proposed in 1924 with the mass immunisation of diphtheria antitoxin in Victoria (Australian Government Department of Health – Immunisation Australia Program, 2014). Since then, vaccinations have protected residents of Australia from life-threatening infections and diseases, increased life expectancy, and their vital role of immunity maintains health and wellbeing in our global society, as vaccines are estimated to prevent over 6 million deaths worldwide annually (J Enreth, 2013).
This is reflected by the demands for more serology testing, which the method of confirmation in adolescents as well as adults who typically present with milder features later in the course of the sickness. However, failing immunity following vaccination as well as natural infection is also likely to be an important factor. This increased activity has continued through the first quarter of 2012 and has extended into three month of infant age. Although a greater number of cases are being confirmed in older age groups, the incidence in these age groups remains relatively low. The name of the virus is called Pertussis, or whooping
Anybody from infants to adults are recommended to get the vaccine to prevent the contraction of pertussis. Pregnant women are especially advised to get the vaccine during each pregnancy to ensure a healthy condition for herself and her baby.
A child’s immune system does not fully develop until about five years old (McMillan, Jane Sheppard) yet, children are bombarded with multiple vaccines such as five doses of DTap
The history of vaccine started with the spread of smallpox disease. Smallpox was a contagious disease and, it was spreading fast leaving permanent scars on patients' faces or worse taking their lives. At the time, there were several attempt to treat and prevent smallpox, but Edward Jenner had the greatest rule in eliminating smallpox.“Jenner's work represented the first scientific attempt to control an infectious disease by the deliberate use of vaccination”. ( “Conclusion” 1,2). Nowadays, Statistics show significant reduction in the cases of infectious diseases after the widespread of vaccination. There were annually 63,000 cases of Pneumococcal among children in the United States. After the beginning of vaccination, the cases redu...
In Australia in the last ten years more then 137 known people have died and many more fallen very ill from contagious and infectious disease. Diseases such as diphtheria; tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps rubella and Haemophilus influenzae, This is a great tragedy considering all these diseases are easily preventable by immunisation.
There are 5 main pathways of environmental transmission of pathogens. Those are air-borne, food-borne, water-borne, vector-borne and blood-borne. Air-borne transmission refers to any disease that is caused by a pathogen and transmitted through the air. These pathogens can be spread by coughing, sneezing, stirring dust, liquid spraying, or generally any activity that generate aerosol particles or droplets. These pathogens can include viruses, bacteria, or fungi. Some common examples of pathogens that are spread via air-borne transmission are rhinovirus, hantavirus, adenovirus, and influenza, among many others (cdc.gov).