The world today faces many challenges: climate change due to global warming, hunger and malnutrition in third world countries due to poverty, poor governance and corruption, endless wars and conflicts, and the list goes on. But the issue of communicable disease is what alarms most of the people in every nation particularly the third world countries. In fact, large percent of deaths all over the globe are caused by infectious diseases. This concern should be tackled first amongst other issues. Communicable diseases doesn’t only affect a single country, it can also become pandemic.
First and foremost, communicable diseases or infectious diseases have been a major issue around the globe. HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), and Swine Influenza (H1N1) are some of the communicable diseases that affected the world recently. Among these communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS is seen as the greatest threat that endangers everyone around the globe. According to WHO (World Health Organization), there has been a 50% increase in HIV infected people since 2004. It is reported by Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS that from its discovery in 1981 to 2006, AIDS killed more than 25 million people. Furthermore, HIV/AIDS doesn’t choose a specific person to infect. Anyone can be infected by HIV/AIDS or other infectious diseases if proper precaution is not observed.
It has been asserted that health problems of another country, especially developing countries, should be left alone for the government to solve. It is the responsibility of the governments to tackle the issues of their own countries. However, health problems of a country have the potential to beco...
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...tive measures to avoid contacting these diseases. People should avoid travelling to places that are known to have infectious diseases. Getting immunization from health centers is also one of the best preventive measures. Lastly, always wash your hands when in public places.
In conclusion, communicable diseases are so alarming that it cannot be disregarded. Every single person in the world is at risk of getting infected by various infectious diseases. This issue must be the first priority of every government. It can not only affect their country, but the world as well. Building more health centers at poverty-stricken communities can lower the chances of spreading diseases in a small area. Thus the chance of creating a pandemic is lowered. In addition, observing proper preventive measures will help lower the chance of contacting infectious and deadly diseases.
Many of these diseases originate from animal populations. Humans’ interaction with the environment, and animals contribute to the rate and prevalence of disease. All three areas are interconnected. One Health is a concept that views human, animal, and environmental health as one area of health. The three entities, when separated can hinder each other and delay progress. The opposite is also true. When public health officials recognize the correlation between human, animal, and environmental health, advancements and innovation can occur. Other public health issues are present in relation to spread of infectious disease between humans and animals. People must know how to cook animal products in order to kill pathogens. Many diseases are also transferred when humans disrupt ecosystems. These are areas where public health has the opportunity to make progress. The issues that infectious diseases cause occur across the globe. In addition, One Health concepts can be applied to populations all over the
Epidemiological transition theory is the idea that there are complex changes in patterns of health and disease in relation with demographic and technologic transitions. The original three phases include the age of pestilence and famine, the age of receding pandemics, and the age of degenerative and man-made diseases (Omran, 2005). The age of pestilence and famine is characterized by high mortality due to war, famine, and epidemic outbreaks (Omran, 2005). Very few countries are in this phase as average life expectancy has increased globally. However, in Africa, ongoing conflict and famine continue to plague many populations. In the age of receding pandemics, average life expectancy increases and infectious disease outbreaks become fewer in frequency
Today there are many infectious diseases around the world. An infectious disease is defined as an infection which can be caused by the entrance, development and manipulation of microorganisms in the body. Infections are classified as emerging and re-emerging. An emerging disease is a disease that has appeared in a population for the first time, or that it may have happened previously but is rapidly increasing in incident or geographic range. Whereas a re-emerging disease is a disease that has been present at a location in the past and was considered eradicated or controlled. Some emerging and re-emerging disease present today and in the past are, HIV and Aids, Ebola, Hendra Virus as emerging diseases and Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Cholera as re-emerging diseases. In this report the re-emerging disease ‘Poliomyelitis’ will be thoroughly investigated and from reliable research, the effectiveness of the management to prevent this disease in the world will be evaluated. Poliomyelitis, often called ‘polio’ or ‘infantile paralysis’ is an infectious disease caused by a virus. This dangerous infectious disease has been eradicated around the world except for three countries, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Right from my High school days I had a strong inclination to various programmes/ activities in health sector. My Interest in the subject has grown as it refers to "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals which is concerned with threats to health. I have come to terms with the fact that there is an enormous proportion of subject to be assimilated; to focus on public health intervention to improve health and quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease and other physical and mental health conditions. Therefore I want to take up a vital role in disease prevention efforts in both the developing world and in developed countries.
There are currently 40 emerging infectious diseases, that are at risk of spreading from country to country, due to the increase of people traveling. Diseases like Ebola and the Zika virus pose a global threat due to the possible rapid rate of transmission from human-to-human, that occurs with exposure to someone who is symptomatic and seropositive (World Health Organization, 2016-a). When there is an infectious disease breakout, public health practitioners and physicians, must make quick decisions regarding isolation of a patient exhibiting symptoms and using quarantine for those who have been exposed to someone symptomatic or seropositive. Although, a public health framework is followed to make the decisions for isolation and
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.
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.
Globalization influences almost all spheres of human life. Public health has been affected by this phenomenon, both pos...
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) first came to light in 1981. There has been a long and arduous global effort on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. HIV is a virus that is spread through body fluids that affect the specific T-cells of the immune system. Without treatment HIV infection leads to AIDS and there is no cure for AIDS. HIV infection can be controlled and the importance of primary pre...
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
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.
The AIDS virus is the most common disease, and with no cure, an infected person will die. It is estimated that 90 to 95 percent of AIDS infections occur in developing countries where the world’s worst living conditions exist.
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.
...tly should attend to the most urgent and highest needful problems to reduce the risk of developing those issues. Health priorities include reduction of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), decrease the road traffic accidents rate, reduce the infectious disease and vaccine preventable diseases, prevent transmit of HIV infections and reduce the poverty by minimizing gap between rich and poor. In addition, this health problems should be addressed in accordance to WHO guidelines, Millenniums development goals and according to other international health reporting standards. Moreover understanding the burden of disease is important where it helps to measure weightage of disease in a specific nation with that of the global situation. So supportively this will help to prioritize the urgent health problems in the country which will support the prevention of those health issues.
The emergence of HIV/AIDS is viewed globally as one of the most serious health and developmental challenges our society faces today. Being a lentivirus, HIV slowly replicates over time, attacking and wearing down the human immune system subsequently leading to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) at which point the affected individual is exposed to life threatening illnesses and eventual death. Despite the fact that a few instances of this disease have been accounted for in all parts of the world, a high rate of the aforementioned living with HIV are situated in either low or medium wage procuring nations. The Sub-Saharan region Africa is recognized as the geographic region most afflicted by the pandemic. In previous years, people living with HIV or at risk of getting infected did not have enough access to prevention, care and treatment neither were they properly sensitized about the disease. These days, awareness and accessibility to all the mentioned (preventive methods, care etc.) has risen dramatically due to several global responses to the epidemic. An estimated half of newly infected people are among those under age 25(The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic). It hits hard as it has no visible symptoms and can go a long time without being diagnosed until one is tested or before it is too late to manage.