SARS SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was a coronavirus that spread across the globe from 2003 to 2004 and caused over 750 deaths worldwide. The virus itself is sometimes referred to as the first virus of the new millennium. Through our presentation on SARS, we aimed to show the transmission of the disease through a clue-like activity, share information about the disease itself, as well as the impact it had on society and media. We began our presentation with a global transmission activity. This activity aimed to show the global spread of the disease by trying to piece together the minimal information everyone received in order to find a so called ‘index patient’. This index patient was made to mimic the ‘index patient’ of Liu …show more content…
The virus itself is sometimes referred to as the first virus of the new millennium. Through our presentation on SARS, we aimed to show the transmission of the disease through a clue-like activity, share information about the disease itself, as well as the impact it had on society and media. We began our presentation with a global transmission activity. This activity aimed to show the global spread of the disease by trying to piece together the minimal information everyone received in order to find a so called ‘index patient’. This index patient was made to mimic the ‘index patient’ of Liu Jianlun, a Chinese doctor that treated patients with SARS before going to a wedding at the MetroPark hotel. The doctor then infected over 6 guests on his floor before succumbing to the disease. The overall goal for this activity was to show how fast and far a disease can spread, especially in the modern times. I modelled this activity after the real story, with a few adjustments made to provide some more clues. And although I used the term ‘patient zero’, this is incorrect. The patient zero came before the doctor, but even then, we are not entirely sure if that patient was the index patient, as it is can nearly impossible to link someone to the definite start of an …show more content…
The SARS-CoV is spread through close person-to-person contact, fomites, and through respiratory droplets through coughing or sneezing. It is also thought to be potentially airborne and may be spread through some other unknown ways. Due to the virus’ short lived transmission cycle, there is not a lot of in-depth information and studies on how exactly it may spread. And while we know some ways it spread, we may not know all. (Serradell, 2010). The virus itself primarily infected the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, and healthcare workers with direct exposure to those infected. SARS was the first new disease of the twenty-first century and as a result, was one of the first diseases to see such a rapid, global spread. SARS may have only taken place from 2003-2004, but in that time it spread to over 24 other countries around the
This essay is and both exploratory and informative. Gladwell tells a story about different epidemics to prove his point that small events can lead to massive results. This essay connects well with the others because it is examining the entire premise of social issues, and the large effect they can have in society. Several elements of creative non-fiction are present in this novel, such as the apparent subject vs. deeper subject, storytelling, reflections from the author, and interesting phrasing. This essay is an excerpt from Malcom Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point which goes into greater detail about how epidemics are created. The target audience of this well-written informative essay is anyone interested in learning about the factors that lead to epidemics
The novel, “The Hot Zone”, by Richard Preston, is an extraordinary tale about a virus called the Ebola virus. The author interviews a number of different people that all had encounters with the virus and records their stories. He is very interested by what they tell him and throughout the novel he is always seeking to find more information about it. There were many different encounters in this book but in my summary I am going to explain the ones that interested me the most.
For those infected, skin glistens with sweat, hair hangs from the weight of dampness, and faces flush with fever. He shows the dead with a pale green cast, staring straight ahead with vomit drying to their faces. To illustrate the virus’ spread, he frames scenes at hand-level showing fingers pushing elevator buttons, gripping poles on public transportation, passing water glasses, and signing paperwork. This element of cinematography highlights society’s vulnerability to the invisibility of the virus due to its rapid spread via common
The viruses are spread in many different ways in the novel, but all are due to human mistakes. One of the most common forms of errors found in the medical field is the recycling of soiled equipment. The repeated use of dirty medical equipment is found commonly in the poor regions of the world where resources are limited and fundings are bound. This is an example of the errors the human race performs that lead to disaster.
...nd make people aware that it is more common than people realize and that a rather large part of America has the illness, whether they know it or not. This paper also discussed how the virus, could target certain individuals more easily than others based on the genetic makeup of an individual and families.
The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic stretched its lethal tentacles all over the globe, even to the most remote areas of the planet, killing fifty million people or possibly even more. Influenza killed more people in a year than the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed in a century, and it killed more people in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has killed in twenty-four years.3 Influenza normally kills the elderly and infants, but this deadly and abnormal strand claimed young people, those in their twenties or thirties as its target victims. Such was the case for Jules Bergeret. Jules was a “big, strapping man” who owned a tavern during the epidemic, and on December 11 he celebrated his 32 birthday. Within two weeks Jules, his mother, his sister, and his 25 year old wife all fell victim to the flu, and on December 22 he was dead.4 The virus left victims bleeding out of their nose ears and mouth; some coughing so hard that autopsies would later show that abdominal muscles and rib cartilage had been torn. Victims ...
...influenza pandemic in one way or another; the use of quarantines were extremely prevalent among them. Also, the pandemic is directly responsible for the creation of many health organizations across the globe. The organizations help track and research illnesses across the globe. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for example, strive to prevent epidemics and pandemics. They also provide a governing body with directives to follow in case an outbreak does occur, and if one shall occur the efforts of organizations across the globe will be crucial for its containment. It is amazing that with modern medicine and proper organization that influenza still manages to make its appearance across the globe annually.
Kamradt-Scott, Adam. "The Politics Of Medicine And The Global Governance Of Pandemic Influenza." International Journal Of Health Services: Planning, Administration, Evaluation 43.1 (2013): 105-121. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Recent research shows that, there are three major means by which infections can be transmitted and they include direct transmission, indirect transmission and airborne transmission (Hinman,Wasserheit and Kamb,1995). Direct transmission occurs when the physical contact between an infected person and s susceptible person takes place (division of public health, 2011). An example is a health care worker who attends to an Ebola patient, without gloves, gown and mask plus forget to wash his or her hand with soap and hot water and or a person having flu without the use of mask or washes his hand after sneezing easily passes the infection to the other through hand shake or surface touch, living the bacteria there for another vulnerable person to also touch if the surface is not disinfected with bleach. Studies makes it clear that, the spreads takes effect when disease-causing microorganisms pass from the infected person to the healthy person through direct physical contact such as touching of blood, body fluids, contact with oral secretion, bites kissing, contact with body lesions and even sexual contact. However, measles and chicken pox are said to be conditions spread by direct
According to Aberth, "disease is a constant force in human history that has had much more than just demographic repercussions"(Aberth 2007, Pg.X). It has created fear, awareness, pain and frustration for the lack of knowledge of it cause. In 1500 through the 20th century, the primary reasons for disease to spread so effectively are animals, trade routes and colonization/ imperialism. The disease was widely spread through warm climate and the geographic of the world because the virus host bacteria was able to grow and attack the human body.
This virus is similar to Ebola, because it started in the same place. Lab workers in Germany, in 1967, contracted the new virus while working with African Green Monkeys, which had the virus. The virus is described as a hemorrhagic fever. It has a fatality rate up to 90% and spreads through human to human contact. The first symptoms can be as simple as a fever and a headache, then can progress to organ failure, and fatal internal bleeding.
Ebola, a major threat to today's society, is threatening all parts of today's culture. In this paper one will be presented with six major points of analyses. The first an outbreak timeline, the next three are a basic overview of the deadly virus. In the fifth, one will be presented with what things are being blamed for these violent outbreaks. And in the sixth and final point one will be shown what is being done to better the situation.
This allowed the cells to multiply to within the billions of trillions in a short period of time. They had been allowed to into the drainage system infecting the water supply of the population. Every household within the United States had tainted water, making it easier to spread the noocytes from person-to-person. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been informed of a “plague” as the cells have already spread across the continent. This led to the cancellation of “all intra- and international” flights with travellers from the United States quarantined to prevent potential contamination (121). A procedure of this magnitude conjures up images of men in hazardous suits having citizens strip down and sprayed with sterilizing chemicals. The sudden isolation of the country by the CDC has caused panic and chaos with communication between major cities failing. Any physical contact other countries had with North America has been cut off. The plague had the North American continent isolated with countries ceasing to have physical contact created this mood of an apocalyptic setting throughout the story. The story then examines the apocalyptic plague through Michael
In “Contagion and in “The Hot Zone” when confronted with an outbreak in the United States, technology both helped spread the virus and aid in its containment by connecting the world. Some brief ways it helped spread was the ease of going anywhere in the world by airplane within twenty four hours. A way that it helped contain the outbreak was the high level technology that we have and how we can stop the spread of a virus and make a vaccine against it.
The Ebola Virus is breaking out in many countries, according to the U.S Senate documents. The countries Ebola has taken over have very limited resources and this makes it difficult to tranquil the disease. The disease is being spread faster than it can be controlled. At first we only heard about Ebola in other countries, but when it spread to the United States, our country started to worry and we became stressed. “If we take proper safety measurements the outbreaks can be minimized and hopefully prevented (Federal Info)”.