Meningitis: Indigenous People of Australia.

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Meningitis: Indigenous People of Australia. Meningitis is an infectious disease that can be found within the indigenous Australian community. Incidence and prevalence, when regarding an infectious agent or disease, utilizes measurements to determine new cases and existing cases of a disease process or infectious condition. Mathematical equations are utilized in order to determine and compare the survival or recovery, and duration of diseases ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011).The incidence and prevalence of meningitis in the indigenous Australian people, is higher in the rural areas then in the larger regions of Australia due to lack of access to vaccinations, and compliance with treatment. As noted via the meningococcal Australia INC agency, As much as 8.9 in 100,000 people are diagnosed each year with a form of meningitis. A total of 500 cases annually is reported in Australia ("meningococcal disease & meningitis," 2014). The epidemiology triad involves an infectious agent, post, and environment. Agents can be classified as bacteria, viruses or chemical agents, while the host is either the person, i.e. an adult male, or lifestyle factors such as smoking exercise or lack of proper diet and nutrition. Environment is the climate and population or the condition, like stress, in which the host lives (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011). The agent, in the case of meningitis, can be viral or bacterial. However when we consider the dry environment of decreased rainfall in Australia. The specific type of meningitis, Neisseria Meningitidis, is noteworthy (Jacobson, 2008). The host, the indigenous population of Australia, is susceptible to disease given their non-traditional health practices, web access to healthcare, and potential issues with... ... middle of paper ... ...not be a problem for those who are not (Jacobsen, 2008). Works Cited Abbot, P., Menzies, R., Davidson, J., Moore, L., & Wang, H. (2013). Improving immunization timeliness in aboriginal children through personalized calendars. BMC Public Health , 6(13), 598-602. doi: doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-598 Australian indigenous healthinfonet. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/overviews Meningitis. (2013,December). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/index.html Jacobson, K. H. (2008). Socioeconomic context of disease. Introduction to Global Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Meningococcal disease & meningitis. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.meningococcal-australia.org.au/main/faq.html Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2010). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community- oriented practice (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

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