Throughout human history disease has been linked to many facets of life and even the rise and fall of entire civilizations. Biological, social, political and economic forces have all influenced how the outbreak of disease is handled. Epidemics have altered history in how they have developed and the impact that they have had. In turn, epidemic management has been influenced by history and governments as humans have learned to cope with outbreaks and the social and political implications that result from them. Today, biomedical engineers, politicians, historians and social scientists are leading the battle in an attempt to understand and combat infectious diseases. This report will explore epidemic management and its historical relationship with the international political system. Issues will be investigated that range from the societal effects of epidemics, to observing today’s public policy debates regarding outbreaks to the possible reduction or even dissolution of conflict in exchange for food and medical technology between nations. Research has made it abundantly clear that humans must be vigilant in combating epidemics. By drawing on multiple disciplines, it is possible to implement a sound disease management plan that will control and reduce the spreading and mortality of infectious agents across the globe, as well as reduce tension and conflict between the developed and developing worlds.
The occurrence of infectious disease and epidemics has speckled the history of humanity since the first civilization established itself. Considering that a large population can help to foster infectious diseases, and humans share almost 300 communicable agents with animals, the outbreak of epidemics is inextricably intertwined with revol...
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...evention: Implications for the 21st Century.” Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 18, No. 2 (2007). 118.
http://www.springerlink.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/content/c2q171101l20qq68/?p=9ce959d562f744d681c25cbbce7ed11c&pi=0.
Ibid. 119.
Bernard Choi, et al. “EVIDENCE BASED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY AND PRACTICE: Can scientists and policy makers work together?” Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Vol. 59 Issue 8 (2005). 632.
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Robert May. “Plagues and People.” IUBMB Life. Vol. 58 Issue 3 (2006). . 120. http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20856641&site=ehost-live.
Ibid. 121.
"Plague." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 June 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) utilizes the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) to help limit the spread of plague and hopefully avoid a new epidemic from emerging (Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), 2016). The GOARN, a partnership of existing institutions (scientific, laboratory, technical, etc.), assembles the necessary resources for the identification, authentication, and response to outbreaks, such as for the Black Death (Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN),
She begins with the dramatic account of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), viral pandemic at the start of the 21st century which started in Southern China. The virus is intentionally carried to a lab in Hong Kong, breaks loose and jets to the rest of the world and ends up killing eight hundred people before it was finally put under control (Crawford 24). She goes ahead to taking us back to history to reveal the interconnected history of microbes and humans, giving an elaborate update at the historical epidemics and plagues. She also identifies the major changes in the way human beings have lived, citing examples such as the change of lifestyle from gathering and hunting to farmers and finally to a complex lifestyle of a city dweller. This later change to city dwelling is what Crawford says made humans vulnerable to attack by microbes. This she supports by showing how life in the city is characterized by a lot of crowding and travelling by air. Crawford poses the question whether humans might ever conquer microbes comple...
Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through constant vigilance and careful planning, mankind can prevent this scenario.
We live in a world where people become sick and infected with bacterial infections. Since mankind was born, infections continue to persevere and adapt. In the the thirteenth century, people meet a new kind of disease that could be transmitted from person to person. It was in this era that people began to get infected with diseases that caused a slow and painful death. In the modern era, the scientific world has innovated new antibiotics and vaccinations to prevent us from getting infections. However, not everybody was so fortunate, in the Middle Ages a massive outbreak of a deadly infections plagued most of Europe. The Bubonic Plague also known as the Black Death diminished one third of Europe’s population.
The TED talk addressed the issue of infectious disease and the ways in which disease is spread using the examples of cholera and malaria. The speaker Paul Ewald discussed the ways in which humans may have the ability to reduce their exposure and spread of infectious disease through applying the theory of evolution by natural selection. This spread of disease poses a threat to humans as the bacteria that cause the disease evolves with humans and become resistant to the medical interventions. The speaker addressed some key issues and posed some important solutions towards the betterment of human lives. The field of biological science studies when it comes to human’s works towards understanding the evolution of humans and the threats to the survival of our species. Understanding the evolution of disease is important in creating ways to protect humans against these diseases and properly treating those infected. The 21st century has been seen some successful cases in which science has been successful in the irradiated disease through the use of research and development of antibiotics but there are still diseases that plague countries especially in the developing world. Lack of information in regards to diseases and the effects of disease on humans can be critical to human survival if diseases evolve beyond our control which can lead to a pandemic.
Raine , R . 1998 . ‘ Evidence-based Policy: Rhetoric and Reality ’ , Journal of Health Service Research Policy , 3 , 4 , 251 – 3 .
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.
Evans, B. A., Snooks, H., Howson, H., & Davies, M. (2013). How hard can it be to include research evidence and evaluation in local health policy implementation? Results from a mixed methods study. Implementation Science, 8(1), 1-9.
Plagues and Peoples. By William H. McNeill. (New York: Anchor Books: A division of Random House, Inc., 1976 and Preface 1998. Pp. 7 + 365. Acknowledgements, preface, map, appendix, notes, index.)
The human population has a high susceptibility to the contraction of new diseases and outbreaks of these diseases are of high risk. Diseases in recent times that have broken out into the human population are the H7N9 flu strain and SARS. Despite the risk, outbreaks like H7N9 and SARS have been controlled due to epidemiology and other disease control methods. Outbreaks of disease are not uncommon to the human population as they move to new areas around the world with foreign diseases that the native residents would have developed a resistance to.
Garrett, L. (1994). The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Lapaire, Pierre J. "The Plague: Overview." Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.
When looking back on history, it is evident to see that humans by nature are warriors. Humans often find themselves fighting mysterious battles against disguised enemies. Throughout history the earth has been afflicted with mysterious diseases, which tend to invisibly cause the preponderance of civilizations to perish. The evolution of infectious diseases has and always will provide challenges for humankind (Hoff, Smith, and Calisher 6-7). Over the course of time, humans gradually developed a preference to live in large urban settings. Urbanization and the cross-cultural interaction of civilizations have both strongly provoked widespread illness, which is known as an epidemic or pandemic based upon size. An epidemic is when a common disease affects a large number of people within a particular region (Lamb). A pandemic is similar to an epidemic but is even more widespread than an epidemic, and spreads throughout entire continents or even the world. Despite the slight variation in meaning, most pandemics are interchangeably denoted as epidemics (Friendlander 13-14). Epidemics and pandemics have formed the course of human history by inflicting lifestyle alterations and abruptly killing large masses of people. When one thinks of widespread disease it is easy to think that pandemics and epidemics are things of the past. Unfortunately, epidemics are commonly found today in poorer countries and major pandemics are still on the rise, such as the modern disease AIDS (Lampton 12-15). Nonetheless, epidemics and pandemics affect large portions of the world’s population; thus, these ongoing diseases will always influence the history of mankind because they force transformation amongst even the strongest civilizations.
Epidemics and pandemics have been around for centuries and have killed several thousand people. 50,097 people died in 2011 from two harmful epidemics called pneumonia and influenza. Epidemics and pandemics are extremely dangerous and should be taking seriously. But, there are also things that could be done that are and should be being done.