Apart from the seasonal influenza epidemics caused by antigenic drifts, a significant change in the virus's virulence through antigenic shifts has been a major source of concern for healthcare professionals. These new strains may reach pandemic proportions. Predicting the next outbreak is an impossible task but historically, the longest period between two outbreaks has been forty one years and it usually occurs every 30-40 years. An outbreak can reach pandemic proportions in as little as 6-month's time, or even lesser. This fast spread can be attributed to globalization and urbanization. Countries, such as Bangladesh or Indonesia, where overcrowding is common, can prove to be a haven for the emergence of new strains, but it may still be irrational to predict where the next pandemic may originate from. Two out of the last four strains originated from Southeast Asia and the most recent outbreak of 2009 was from Mexico.…… [Read More]
Pandemic Flu Impact on Ethics in Nursing Practice
Pandemic flu: A literature review
The dire scenario of a pandemic flu is likely to strike fear in the heart of many healthcare workers, regardless of the level of their experience and knowledge. The 2009-2010 flu season brought additional attention to the issue. 208 countries "had confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and [stated] that over 13,000 people had died as a direct result" (Stroschein 2010). Although the death toll was not as great as feared, issues regarding how to cope with a pandemic and the need for immunization were brought to the forefront of the public consciousness and the concerns of healthcare workers.
Fears of a pandemic are not limited to the general public at large. In fact, "one of the ethical issues identified in response to a possible pandemic is healthcare workers' duty to provide care during a communicable…… [Read More]
In other words, the PAHPA should protect volunteers (that rush to the scene of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina) from lawsuits for their "non-criminal actions" in humanitarian efforts (Hodge, p. 3).
Also, Hodge writes that PAHPA does not "…ensure adequate economic incentives to stimulate maximum private sector participation"; in other words, pharmaceutical companies asked to produce vaccines for potential bio-terror attacks, are not guaranteed a return on their investment to produce the vaccines (Hodge, p. 4).
hen the U.S. House of Representatives reauthorized PAHPA in 2011, the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) -- a nonprofit advocacy group -- praised the legislation but cautioned that "…the bill freezes public health preparedness funding at the fiscal-year 2011 levels" which, the TFAH asserts, "will not provide sufficient resources to…ensure we are prepared in the event of an emergency" (Roos, 2011). In fact, Jeffrey Levi, the executive director of TFAH, mentioned that cuts in…… [Read More]
To meet substantive due process, a public health intervention must be based on a public health necessity, an effective intervention, have a demonstrable means-end connection, be proportionate to the threat involved, and be the least restrictive means of accomplishing the goal. In addition, Daubert explains the parameters of the procedural due process. Due process in a quarantine situation does not always involve a judicial hearing, but it must contain the following elements: notice to the affected individual, an opportunity to contest the government's action, access to legal counsel, and a final decision that is subject to review by a court of law. She includes with a discussion of how due process came to be applied in situations of quarantine, by viewing due process as a continuum, with infected individual on one end of the spectrum and the exposed individual on another. She thinks that due process should increase as the…… [Read More]
PAHPA gives federal officials important judgment to gather and share personal health information without sufficient privacy safeguards. PAHPA does not substantively address privacy worries. The HIPAA Privacy ule prohibits public health data collections from its protections. Other privacy laws supply a patchwork of protections for national public health data (Hodge, 2007).
National organization of interstate volunteer health professionals throughout emergencies assumes that the legal environment supports their deployment. Competent, registered health care professionals who volunteer to assist for humanitarian purposes deserve protection from liability. "During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of interstate and intrastate volunteer health personnel faced potential legal liability or other risks for their actions depending on the nature of their deployment, their existing employment, and varying laws. Whether real or perceived, the specter of liability hindered the deployment or minimized the utility of skilled volunteers" (Hodge, Gostin & Vernick, 2007).
PAHPA promises new initiatives for the rapid development of…… [Read More]
HIV/AIDS Pandemic: A Look Back in Time
In modern times, one could easily argue that the HIV/AIDS pandemic was the single most destructive widespread illness to sweep the globe. In summary, the death toll from HIV/AIDS has reached a total of 36 million people. At this time there are around 31-35 million individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV: the bulk of these people reside in Sub-Saharan Africa, a place where around 5% of the total number of people are infected (mphonline.org). While an HIV diagnosis is not the death sentence that it was decades ago, there is still a need for more research and developments in preventing and treating the condition. Looking backwards to the past can be tremendously beneficial in understanding the journey the disease has taken, starting with the first outbreak.
The disease was very pinpointed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. The outbreak…… [Read More]
Marketing Protection from a Potential Bird Flu Pandemic
A popular saying is that it 'is an ill wind that blows nobody good.' This means that even something as dire as the looking threat of a bird flu pandemic has the ability to increase demand for manufactures of a vaccine -- or in this case, a facemask that when used in combination with duct tape provides limited protection against catching the dreaded bird flu.
The threat if a bird flue pandemic cannot be minimized. It is not simply paranoid individuals who fear the flu -- news sources such as CNN and the BBC warn of an outbreak. "Bird flu has swept through poultry and wild birds in Asia since 2003. It has killed huge numbers of birds and led to more than 60 human deaths," reported the BBC. ("Bird Flu Could Kill 150 Million People," 2005) The flu is very easily…… [Read More]
While public health emergencies crop up from time to time, it is critical that public health stakeholders be prepared to address emergency situations whenever they occur. The spread of influenza is one such public health emergency that stakeholders should be ready to address. Addressing these situations requires a number of steps to be taken: communication must be instrumental in conveying the urgency of the situation among medical personnel, researchers, governmental authorities, and so on, so that everyone is abreast of the situation and on the same page. An agreed upon method of response should also be established, so that the necessary actions can be implemented without hesitation or time lost because of unpreparedness.
Preventing the spread of disease is the top concern in a public health emergency. Prevention requires using all the means at one’s disposal—from the media (through which alerts can be given and calm, orderly instructions can…… [Read More]
The authors point out that there is a lack of previous studies focussed on health promotion and the effect on preventing DM. The conclusion of the authors is very logical and convincing from the statistics they show. It is important to note that type 2 diabetes (insulin independent diabetes), which is also widely prevalent, is a preventable condition. The authors argue that nursing focus must shift from a sickness service to a health promotion service among the healthy people. Nurses have a strategic role in care delivery and also in increasing the awareness of the disease among the masses. The authors suggest that a patient centred health care delivery system should be established. This approach is appropriate and endorsed by recent studies that show that nurses can improve care delivery for diabetics by promoting a problem-based learning model. [Gale Group] in this approach, patients are encouraged to actively interact in…… [Read More]
Brownlee, C. "The Bad Fight: Immune Systems Harmed 1918 Flu Patients." Science News, 30 September 2006, 211+.
Grist, N.. Pandemic Influenza 1918. 2009. Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town. Online. Available from the Internet: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/mmi/jmoodie/influen2.html, accessed 17 April 2009.
Imperato, Pascal James. "America's Forgotten Pandemic. The Influenza of 1918." Journal of Community Health 29, no. 1 (2004): 100+.
Irwin, Julia F. "An Epidemic without Enmity: Explaining the Missing Ethnic Tensions in New Haven's 1918 Influenza Epidemic." Urban History eview 36, no. 2 (2008): 5+.
Phillips, Howard and David Killingray, eds. The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19: New Perspectives. New York: outledge, 2003.
1. Howard Phillips and David Killingray, eds., The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19: New Perspectives. New York: outledge, 2003, 2.
C. Brownlee, "The Bad Fight: Immune Systems Harmed 1918 Flu Patients," Science News, 30 September 2006.
N..…… [Read More]
air traffic has continued to increase and it now constitutes a considerable proportion of the travelling public. The amount of long-hour flights has increased significantly. Based on the International Civil Aviation authority, air traffic can be anticipated to double amid till 2020. Airline travel, especially over longer distances, makes air travelers vulnerable to numerous facets that will impact their health and well-being. Particularly, the speed with which influenza spreads and mutates, via transportation routes, is the reason why the influenza pandemic is considered to be a huge threat to the human population. Pandemic is a term, which is used for a virus or microbe when it spreads over a large area, in severe cases even the whole world and large number of people start getting affecting by it (CDC, 2009).
In the past 300 years, there have been ten significant influenza pandemics outbreaks that have taken place in this world.…… [Read More]
The objective of this study is to consider what leadership knowledge and skills are needed during a pandemic situation. The best practices utilized by health care leaders when working collaboratively during a pandemic situation (real or potential) will be
According to the work of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives work entitled "The Role of Health Leaders in Planning for an Influenza Pandemic" published in 2006, pandemic planning "is uniquely complex. From local to international plans, all require a blend of strategic and operational, proactive and reactive, integrated and independent and personal and professional approaches." (p.7) It is necessary that those planning for such a pandemic prepare various reactions to a diverse number of situations and that plans are made in advance of their actual execution. It is necessary that such planning take place across all governmental and health system levels.
Areas of Planning
Recommendations made for…… [Read More]
The result is that the flu pandemic created a greater respect from citizens to medical professionals and also increased the role of government in preventing and anticipating the spread of infectious diseases.
Overall Crosby's work makes very valid arguments; his intent throughout the book is to provide an analysis of the impact of the influenza pandemic. He wanted the reader to understand precisely why this pandemic, though so large in scope and so damaging to the youth of merica during that era has escaped the national consciousness. He argues that this is the result of apt responses by government and the emergence of a new confidence in the medical profession. On all of these counts Crosby has succeeded admirably, he demonstrates through his narrative how even though individuals became more hysterical over the threat of the flu, they were at the same time persuaded and assuaged by local, state and…… [Read More]
The risk to humans is generally low, however during any outbreak of Avian Flu among poultry, there is always a possible risk to humans who have contact with the infected birds and surfaces contaminated with excretions from the infected fowl (Avian1). The current outbreak of H5N1 among poultry in Asia and Europe is an example of a bird flu outbreak that has caused human infections and death (Avian1). In rare instances, limited human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus has occurred, however transmission has not been observed to continue beyond one person (Avian1). Because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could mutate and infect humans with a strain that could easily spread from one person to another (Avian1).
Furthermore, according to the CDC, because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human…… [Read More]
AIDS and Politics in African
Aside from Malaria and other life threatening diseases, AIDS constitutes one of the major concerns within the African continent. One of the reasons behind this concern is the fact that HIV / AIDS is responsible for causing many deaths in this part of the world. ith close to 70% of people living with HIV / AIDS in the entire globe coming from Africa, the magnitude of the problem in the continent cannot be overemphasized (UNAIDS 1). Political participation in matters as serious as this cannot go without being noticed. Politics in Africa is part of the HIV / AIDS epidermis and plays a role not only in the prevention of the diseases but also in its causes among other dynamics. The politics of Aids however is not limited to government and political entities and neither does it emanate from Africa alone. The participation of such…… [Read More]
Public Health Emergencies
When it comes to public health, there are two main issues: basic control of general public health concerns, and what takes place during an emergency. The United States and other countries have recently made some changes in how public health emergencies are handled, mostly in response to disasters that have been seen on their home soil or in other areas of the world. A public health emergency can come from a natural disaster, a terrorist act, or in other ways, but being prepared for it is important. It can also be difficult, because it is unpredictable and cannot be accurately planned for in many cases.
esponse to Japan Disasters
Japan has experienced its share of public health emergencies in recent years. The tsunami created a massive issue for a significant number of people (CDC, 2011). Additionally, the nuclear radiation that began leaking added fuel to the fire,…… [Read More]
, 2001). These two simple measures can drastically increase the subsequent spread of infectious disease throughout the country.
In Outbreak, the military institutes martial law to quarantine the infected populace in the town of Cedar Creek. Eventually, the military begins plans to bomb Cedar Creek in an attempt to eradicate the virus, which had thus far proven untenable. hile the concept of the United States government destroying a small town and murdering its populace is likely superlative Hollywood movie-making, the institution of martial law is a realistic and effective approach toward preventing further spread (Yassi et al., 2001).
In addition to the non-medical measures which can be taken to deal with the spread of an infectious agent, there are several medical actions which could be utilized to treat infected invididuals, including antivirals, antibiotics, or vaccines (Yassi et al., 2001). For example, antivirals and vaccines are both being utilized in an…… [Read More]
Avian Influenza is a disease that humans are becoming exposed to through contact, either directly or indirectly with infected poultry or fowl. This paper intends to explore the history of the flu as well as what is being done to combat this infectious and deadly disease.
Avian Influenza, also known as Avian flu or "bird flu" is "an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus" according to the World Health Organization. Identified over 100 years ago in Italy it has now spread throughout the entire globe. The immune systems of some bird species are more resistant to this disease than other although it is believed that all species are susceptible to becoming infected with the disease. The flue ranges "from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease results in severe epidemics."
Facts of the Disease:
The fatal version…… [Read More]
This tax would also concentrate of taxing large corporations as a result of the fact that they are among the most pollutant communities in the world.
The basic idea is that every individual who pollutes needs to take responsibility for his or her own actions. Also, a large amount of the money raised through taxing pollution would be invested in creating green technologies which would replace pollutant technologies in time. People need to understand that they are not being deprived of particular technologies through the fact that this tax is imposed, as they are actually heading toward a stage where technology is no longer pollutant, regardless of the level of comfort that it generates. Green cars can actually be much better than cars that run on fossil fuels, given that contemporary progress in the technological sector has made it possible for fossil fuels to appear like an obsolete source of…… [Read More]
Avoid dangerous spots near a window, hanging objects, mirrors, or merchandise fixtures
If you take cover under a piece of furniture, be sure to hold onto it. If the furniture moves be prepared to move and navigate along with it
Hold the position until the aftershock abates and it's safe to proceed further.
A pandemic or other people disaster has struck, and people resources (employees) have been impacted.
Being located in South Florida, heavy rains will undoubtedly occur. These rains coupled with the high prevalence of winds increases the likelihood of a flood. This problem is further compounded as the hurricane season is south Florida is predicated with high winds and rain. Floods can be troublesome for XYZ personnel as merchandise is damaged, the threat of electrical damage is increased, and the water damage to the facility can be substantial (United States Department of Commerce, 2006). In…… [Read More]
Health and Community
Nola Pender states that the most important challenge in modern nursing is the understanding of global health issues. It is not enough to merely be aware of international disease patterns but to utilize western technologies to both inform and help bring about change to these epidemic situations. Several diseases have transcended the original locale to become worldwide issues. Most prevalent of these is the epidemic of HIV which has infected people all over the world. The orld Health Organization (HO) has officially labeled the virus as a "pandemic," meaning that there is no place in the populated world that is not in some way impacted by HIV. The HIV and Aids epidemics are not new information. People have been suffering and dying with this disease for more than twenty years now. However, knowledge of the illness does not mean that people should give up and stop providing…… [Read More]
U.S. Handling of Pandemic-Level Mass Fatality Event
A pandemic is classified as an event that takes place across a wide geographic area and has the capacity to affect an exceptionally high percentage of the population. A mass fatality event usually generates numerous casualties to an extent that clinical personnel, emergency services, and referral systems work collaboratively to offer adequate and timely response. The United States has experienced some pandemic-level mass fatality event in its history such as the 1918 pandemic influenza that led to the death of over 650,000 people across the country. Since the Civil War, the United States has not experienced a pandemic-level mass casualty or fatality event. While the 9/11 attacks was a tragedy with far reaching impacts, it was not necessarily a pandemic-level mass fatality event. Actually, the closest the country has come to a mass fatality event is during the flu season, which usually utilizes…… [Read More]
Like much of the other material under review, the only way to control a flu pandemic is to develop more technologically savvy prediction models, more complex warning and communication systems, and globally coordinated response preparation.
Schmidt, C. (2009). Swine CAFOs & Novel H1N1 Flu: Separating Facts from Fears. Environmental Health erspectives. 117 (9): A394-401.
Schmidt writes in a popular science mode and hopes to help the public understand how flu viruses regularly mutate through avian and swine farming sources. The article chronicles the conditions that most swine are subjected, and explains the nature of an antigenic shift in birds and hogs, then to humans. Overall, the situation is complex and multidimensional. The flu pandemic cannot be won on a medical basis only; but requires global economic, political, and even organizational cooperation.
Yang, Y., et.al. (2009). The Transmissibility and Control of andemic Influenza a (H1N1) Virus. Science. 326 (4): 729-33.
andemic…… [Read More]
Democracy and Public Administration
This report is a theoretical essay on the inevitable conflicts that consistently occur between public agencies that are managed by unelected civil servants and the political environment in which these individuals and organizations operate in. Public agencies in the healthcare environment are prime examples of successful interdepartmental cooperation in most cases, but, there are also examples where they can demonstrate both internal and external in-fighting. "The health sector workforce, which usually comprises a significant element within the total public sector workforce, may be either directly employed by the public sector health system, or work in public-funded agencies or organizations (e.g., social insurance funded). In many countries healthcare will also be delivered by organizations in the private sector and by voluntary organizations." (World Bank Group) As concerns like the nation's aging population, a rapidly depleting Medicare Trust or the many potential pandemics such as SAs, Swine…… [Read More]
HIV / AIDS Implication in African Governance
Implications of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance
This dissertation paper is a research study that foresees on the governance structure of African nations, in particular, Botswana. The country has had a declining development on the improvements being instigated in government. This has been attributed to ht increasing rates of HIV / AIDS in the country; more so, it has been rated top among nations with the highest rate of HIV / AIDS infection. This paper raises concerns being implicated on in the social and economic aspects of Botswana government structure and Africa in general. The future is also prospected with a close analysis on the disease's trend in the country, and the importance of reducing the rate of infection for the betterment of governance.
Impact of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance
Governance is the act of utilizing institutional resources in…… [Read More]
As standard procedure warranted in this case, her obstetrician injected her with varicella zoster specific immunoglobulin. The injection did occur too late, but this is a special case warranting attention and was a prophylactic to protect the baby. A few days later the N developed chickenpox anyway. The reasons why the vaccine did not take could have been the fact that the N had already been exposed, and the situation is referred to as "breakthrough varicella," (National Centre for Immunisation, 2009, p. 3). Breakthrough varicella is a mild form of the infection, and yet is still contagious. Varicella vaccine should not be given to the baby until it is twelve months of age, but it may not be necessary at all due to the potential in vitro exposure to the varicella zoster virus. Infants "should receive no specific treatment or vaccination after exposure to Varicella zoster virus (VZV) but…… [Read More]
She is said to have refused to stop being a cook and this led to infection of people in a New York maternity hospital consequently she was re-arrested by the health officers and taken back to quarantine in 1915 till her death in 1938. This sparked a lot of human rights issues concerning quarantine as never before.
The typhoid pandemic in New York went hand in hand with the poliomyelitis pandemic that began in 1916. The health officers began to separate parents from their children in chagrin of many. This saw the wealthier families provide isolation rooms and treatment for their children right at home. However, in November of the same year when the pandemic subsided, it was after well above 2,300 lives claimed by the pandemic, a vast majority being the young.
It was not long until the world war brought with it another challenge of prostitution and consequent…… [Read More]
Policy Analysis Critique
ationale for the chosen policy
Avian influenza is a virus causing lethal infection in human beings (Sims et al., 2003). It can be transmitted from patients to other human beings. It is a deadly virus with track record of 6 deaths in Hong Kong in 1997. That incident was just the start of this health issue. The virus spread enormously and caused H5N1 infection numerous times in Hong Kong. The dawn of 21st century witnessed multiple instances of H5N1 virus (Ellis et al., 2004).
It was expected that the virus could be found in the poultry animals and was infectious. In order to prove it, there were certain laboratory tests conducted on chickens. These tests helped prove the presence and effects of H5N1 virus (Shortridge et al. 1998). Subsequently, it was proved that the chickens were highly pathogenic (Shortridge et al., 1998). It was also proved that…… [Read More]
Human Resources planning and strategy will be 'key' in enabling the organization to deal with pandemic situations. This leads to another primary challenge that the health care industry faces which is the shortage of nursing staff in today's health care organizations and institutions. Nursing staff in the healthcare industry re under great stresses on staffing due to an inadequate supply of individuals pursuing their nursing degree with an."..unprecedented demand for nursing services" however, colleges and universities as well as health care institutions have failed to develop effective workforce supply. The work of leich and Hewlett (2004) entitled: "Dissipating the Perfect Storm - Responses from Nursing and the Health Care Industry to Protect the Public's Health" published by the Journal of Issues in Nursing states: "In spite of the progress in nurse recruitment, the prognosis for balancing supply with demand is still precarious, at best. Sadly, AACN (2003a) reports that more…… [Read More]
A group of researchers write, "To effectively respond to this pandemic, HIV / AIDS must be treated as both an emergency and a long-term developmental issue" (Da Cruz, Da Cruz & Hammers, 2007). First, additional research must be developed to help find an ultimate cure for this disease. This would be the ultimate form of control and eradication, and would eliminate this social problem from the world.
However, this research is costly and takes time. Simply developing drugs that help combat the disease effectively has taken decades, and there is still no cure or preventative for AIDS, other than abstinence. There is an office of AIDS research in the Federal Government that coordinates research and development activities, and there is research under way to help develop an AIDS vaccine to prevent the disease. esearch should be heavily funded, and if federal funds are not available, they should be sought through…… [Read More]
However, their theories, like the catastrophic predictions, lack real, hard, personal evidence. They may be right - but what if they are wrong and civilization does nothing to combat global warming and the other issues facing the Earth?
In conclusion, it seems that many of the people who are so convinced the Earth will survive on its own are ignoring many of the facts. The Earth's survival has depended on regeneration and re-growth in the past, and many species have been eliminated in global events of the past (think of the dinosaurs). During these historic events, man was a blip on the global landscape, or did not exist at all. Today, billions of humans populate the planet and pollute it in a wide variety of ways. The Earth has been able to survive natural events in the past because it was naturally able to regenerate. Today, man has altered the…… [Read More]
ADS in South Africa
Those of us living in the United States became used to the face of ADS a generation ago. We learned to recognize the particular gauntness that characterized those who had been struck by it, and who would soon be taken away by it. And then, after years of people dying from this disease, we learned that people who had this terrible disease could be healed; not cured, for they still contained the viruses within their bodies, but they could live lives that were happy and meaningful - and long. The terror of ADS subsided, becoming one of only many of the perils of modern life rather than one of the predominant ones.
But the trajectory of ADS in South Africa (as well as in other parts of the developing world, has been very different. Even in the first years of the disease the manifestations of it…… [Read More]
Threats due to weather include floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards. Planning for weather events should be very realistic in nature. Major weather events usually occur in 25, 50 and 100-year cycles. Disease outbreaks are also a big threat. A potential flu pandemic could be detrimental to many businesses. For example, the bird flu pandemic scenarios that are floating around are being modeled on the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. That global outbreak killed 500,000 people in the United States and more than 20 million people worldwide. Since that time there have been two other smaller scale flu pandemics, each that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The flu is just one disease that can cause a business disaster situation around the world (Business Continuity during a Disaster, 2008).
ecent years have also shown that terrorism threats are a real possibility that needs to be considered. Terrorism is a great…… [Read More]
National Preparedness (PPD-8) examines how the nation should approach preparing for threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to U.S. security. It is the view of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that "national preparedness is the shared responsibility of our whole community. Ever member contributes, including individuals, communities, the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, and Federal, state, and local governments" (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2011). Therefore, the Department of Homeland Security feels that increasing preparedness across all sectors, public and private, better enables the entire society to deal with potential disasters. Moreover, one of the Department's goals is to increase resiliency; they are aware that not all disasters can be avoided, but want to make sure the country is well-prepared to weather a disaster.
One of the recurring issues with homeland security-geared legislation is that it is seen by many as being somewhat overbroad and unconstitutional.…… [Read More]
Native Societies and Disease
Numerous reports from European traders, missionaries, soldiers and explorers in the 16th and 17th Centuries reveal the same information about the devastating effect smallpox and other epidemic diseases had on the aboriginal populations of the Americas. Europeans were colonizing Africa and Asia at the same time, but "on no other continent in historic times has a combined disease and Construct phenomenon led to the collapse of an entire indigenous population."[footnoteRef:1] In 1492, Native Americans were one-fifth to one-sixth of the global population, but their numbers never came close to equaling that again after all the great epidemics that struck them in waves. Unlike China and India, where smallpox, plague, typhus, measles and influenza already existed, and therefore the local populations had more immunity and greatly outnumbered the European colonizers, aboriginal American societies routinely suffered mortality rates of 80 or 90%. Some forms of smallpox, such as…… [Read More]
Communicable Disease: Influenza
Description of the Disease
Influenza or "the flu" is a common illness in the winter months, all throughout the United States and many other countries. Both birds and all mammals can contract influenza (Brankston, et al., 2007). In recent years there have been scares regarding "bird flu" and "swine flu," both of which are simply different strains of influenza. The cause of the flu is an NA virus in the family Orthomyxoviridae (Eccles, 2005). Once people contract the flu, they present with common symptoms such as chills, fever, a runny nose, muscle pains, a sore throat, and a headache. The headache is quite often severe, and flu sufferers may also have weakness, fatigue, severe bouts of coughing, and a general feeling of overall discomfort. People with the flu can also become nauseated and vomit, although that is more typical in children and not nearly as common in…… [Read More]
Inspiration Towards Choosing Medicine and Becoming a Physician
In the year 2014, the month of February the world woke to a shocking revelation of an outbreak of Ebola in parts of Africa, West Africa in particular. The WHO confirmed t he pandemic and wooed the world, governments, nations and individuals to helping putting together help of whatever form towards helping this part of the world from the pandemic. The news literally took over the news headlines, the blogs online, the websites and all tabloids and even radio were all a buzz with the sad news of the Ebola outbreak. The speed at which is spread at the devastating effects were of apocalyptic proportions.
The CDC activated the Emergency Operations Center meant to directly deal with the Ebola catastrophe, this center was specifically meant to coordinate the technical assistance and control the activities with other agencies of the US government, the…… [Read More]
Digital Disease Detection, commonly referred to as digital epidemiology provided strategies and methods for allowing digital-technology users to monitor infectious disease and conduct surveillance. These strategies help in the understanding of concerns and attitudes regarding infectious diseases. The process begins with the basics, such as the availability of internet access, online sharing platforms and other digital devices. These sources offer huge amounts of data. It is important to note that while these sources collect data, they do not, do so, with public health objectives in focus (Denecke, 2017).
The past few decades have seen tremendous changes in the world. There have been many and varied threats; from bioterrorism, influenza pandemics and the emergence of infectious diseases. There is also the issue of unforeseen population mobility which is among the reasons that triggered the development of public health surveillance systems. Such systems are invaluable tools in the detection and response…… [Read More]
Zika, that was identified accidentally in Uganda in 1947 in the midst of insect and primate monitoring, had so far stayed as a hidden virus limited to a slim equatorial belt functioning along Africa and running into Parts of Asia. Not much is known with regards to ZIKV’s release in the US. Phylogenetic studies suggest that the virus originated with the French Polynesian ZIKV force came into Brazil around May and Dec of 2013.
The unparalleled dimension and impact from the ZIKV pandemic within the Americas could be the all-natural consequence of a unique release right into a big populace without having preexisting immune system; Much like the Americas, the communities of Yap Tropical island and French. The seriousness of results in latest breakouts, in comparison with previous findings of moderate illness, has directed a few to hypothesize that this virus seems to have mutated to become much more…… [Read More]
He describes how wild grains and animals were domesticated, as well as the new technologies that made farming possible (sickles, baskets, pestles, gourds, irrigation, the wheel, the plow). He uses a chart to plot these movements. His evidence is mainly archeological, historical, and botanical with heavy doses of appeal to imaginary scenarios. Its power to convince is narrational. His ultimate point in cataloguing this change is to assert how, for first time in history, humans become a prime factor in altering earth's natural landscapes. Land was now exploited and degraded through deforestation for crops and soil erosion.
Summary: Ruddiman summarizes the history of how humans began to shape the earth through technology and landscape transformation. He relies on the credibility of his narrative.
Ch. 8, pp. 76-83: His main claim is that humans rather than nature have created a rise in atmospheric methane. He presents several lines of argument, beginning…… [Read More]
Partial vaccination was not effective on children 6-23 months. This meant that full vaccination is necessary to optimally protect children of this age group from Influenza (Shueler et al.).
The results are consistent with those of other evaluative studies on children through randomized, controlled trials for efficacy and observational studies for effectiveness (Shueler et al., 2007). Vaccine effectiveness depends on the characteristics of the study population, specificity of the outcome, and the Influenza season. It was dissimilar to the findings of Ritzwoller and his team in that Shueler and team's subjects had more exposure to Influenza. The more specific outcome of laboratory-confirmed Influenza made the detection possible. And Shueler and his team's findings were similar to Ritzwoller and his team's in that the findings of both teams offered assurance that vaccination of young children would be beneficial, even in a year with sub-optimal match (Shueler et al.).
Vaccination Efficacy not…… [Read More]
I chose this topic because the H1N1 virus and the swine flu have taken over the news. The Ohio Department of Health is heavily committed in getting the word out. "During the week of October 18-24, 2009, influenza activity continued to increase in the United States as reported in FluView. Flu activity is now widespread in 48 states. Nationally, visits to doctors for influenza-like-illness continue to increase steeply and are now higher than what is seen at the peak of many regular flu seasons. In addition, flu-related hospitalizations and deaths continue to go up nation-wide and are above what is expected for this time of year." (ODH).
The story is both a local and national headline. The television news report '60 Minutes' lead off this week's show with a serious discussion about all aspects of the new viral spread of the H1N1 virus and issues regarding the production process…… [Read More]
However, advancements in pharmacogenetics promises new and better ways of managing diabetes. Studies have shown that Lisofylline, an anti-inflammatory compound is very effective in suppressing the autoimmune activity and in improving the islet secretion of insulin. Mice studies showed significant difference (25% vs. 91.6%) in the onset of diabetes among Lisofylline treated mice compared to placebo mice. Reduction of inflammatory cytokines IFN-? And TNF-? levels correlated with reduction in ss cell apoptosis. [Yang et.al, 2003] Recent study by Lipsett et.al (2007) has shown that Islet Neogenesis-Associated Protein (INGAP) is useful as a pancreatic regeneration agent. Successful tests in mice and regeneration of cultured human pancreatic cells have encouraged the researchers to seriously consider INGAP as an effective agent for improving insulin synthesis. [Lipsett et.al, (2007)]
A recent Cornell University study focused on an entirely different approach to diabetes management. The researchers examined the possibility of recombinant Commensal bacteria engineered to…… [Read More]
26 Yet public health continued to mean, even more than in the Clinton administration, a technological approach to national defense. In the Bush administration, pharmaceutical protection became the centerpiece of biodefense policy. On December 13, 2002, convinced of the Dark Winter-type threat of smallpox, President Bush announced his nationwide smallpox inoculation program. Publicity about Iraq's potential biological arsenal, especially in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion, and the threat of bioterrorism had convinced many in the public to participate. The states and the CDC were ready to handle the logistics. In addition, civilian participation was voluntary, which reduced legal liability for those who administered the vaccine and for the government.
As might have been predicted, this smallpox vaccination campaign found it difficult to circumvent the well-known fears of vaccination as a source of bodily pollution and the mistrust engendered when vaccines appear a worse health risk than the forecast epidemic.…… [Read More]
Prevention and Control of the Flu
The flu is a serious illness but one of its great advantages is that a vaccine does exist to contain its spread and prevent or at least mitigate its symptoms. The flu is a virus and available antiviral medications like Tamiflu are not as effective as treating, for example, a bacterial infection with an antibiotic. The most effective method of treating the flu is to not get it at all -- which is why vaccination is so essential. However, even flu vaccinations are not particularly effective on a seasonal basis: "A flu virus mutates at an exceptionally high rate as it reproduces, and some mutations will change the tips of the surface proteins. The antibodies cannot grab tightly to the altered tips, so the virus is able to proceed with its invasion. From one flu season to the next, the evolution of the flu…… [Read More]
Vaccines have all but eliminated some diseases that were once pandemics or epidemics like polio and smallpox. The power of vaccines to control infectious diseases cannot be underestimated, and can promote public health worldwide. However, new strains of existing diseases like influenza and potent viruses like HIV continue to plague researchers. Of the various epidemics and pandemics currently facing the international community, all are concerns but it is possible that influenza will become the gravest threat to humanity because of its continual mutations and changes.
The international research community needs to respond to influenza by more aggressive programs in vaccine development, designing new vaccines using methods like those described by Berkeley in his Ted talk. Every few years, a new type of infectious disease becomes a pandemic, according to Berkeley, and this means that the research community around the world must work tirelessly to target new expressions of the same…… [Read More]
Description of HIV; the causes, symptoms, complications, mode of transmission and treatment
HIV is a condition that manifests in the virus attacking the immune system of the victim. When the immune system is weakened, the body does not effectively fight off diseases. The combination of the infection plus the virus that triggers it is referred to as HIV. The immune system heavily relies on the presence of white blood cells to carry out the defence activities. The HIV virus targets and destroys a type of white blood cells referred to as CD4 cells. If the virus destroys a significant number of these cells, the body begins to fail to fight infections. The final stage of infection by HIV is called AIDS. AIDS is an abbreviation for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. People with AIDS suffer ailments that are not commonly experienced by healthy people. They may acquire rare cancers and…… [Read More]
Coordinating community-wide efforts with representatives and respected leaders from each of the constituent sub-communities and populations will ensure the development of effective strategies.
Specifically, each sub-community needs to be apprised of the likelihood and risks of various types of events, including natural disasters and different terrorist attacks. Care must be taken not to cause undue alarm, but also to provide realistic and relevant information that objectively and directly assesses the situation. Providing such information without causing unnecessary fear is a delicate process even when one is familiar with the culture one is dealing with, and it is near impossible if the culture is foreign to the preparer. This is why coordination with community leaders is essential in the planning and education phases of emergency and disaster preparedness; no emergency management team could hope to develop the proper materials and information without consultation.
Coming to an understanding of the cultural and…… [Read More]
Above all it has followed the delibeate maketing of health cae (in association with touism) as medical cae has gadually moved away fom the public secto to the pivate secto, ensuing that a gowing majoity of people, especially in the ichest counties, and paticulaly in the United States, must pay -- often consideably -- fo health cae. Finally, gowing inteest in cosmetic sugey, involving such elective pocedues as hinoplasty, liposuction, beast enhancement o eduction, LASIK eye sugey and so on, o moe simply the emoval of tattoos, have ceated new demands. Vaious foms of dental sugey, especially cosmetic dental sugey, ae not coveed by insuance in counties like the UK and Austalia; hence dental touism has become paticulaly common. In Asia these tends ae 'the unlikely child of new global ealities: the fallout of teoism, the Asian economic downtun, intenet access to pice infomation, and the globalisation of health sevices'…… [Read More]
End Poverty in 30 Years?
Ending extreme poverty seems as if it should be relatively easy. There is a tremendous amount of wealth in the world, and, even with the growing world population, redistributing only a small portion of the world's total wealth would result in the eradication of extreme poverty. However, history has repeatedly shown that people, regardless of religious affiliation or social orientation are not willing to simply allow for resource redistribution. Communist ideals have remained just that, ideals, as people have routinely used power positions to ensure wealth concentration, which has meant that prior attempts to forcefully redistribute wealth have been unsuccessful. Furthermore, while some people with wealth would be willing to give up some portion of their wealth in order to eradicate poverty, the reality is that charities are notoriously inefficient at asset relocation. Charities are fantastic for solving short-term problems, but poverty is a life-long…… [Read More]
Interestingly enough, one of the themes in the post-modernism period of American history has been the reexamination of the "real America," particularly the moral, ethical and sexual changes that have evolved since the turn of the century. This has not been a new theme, nor has it been relegated to non-fiction. At the beginning of the 20th century, American novelists were expanding the role fiction took by examining high and low life in society. Edith harton, for instance, found tremendous hypocrisy within the ranks of the Eastern elite in terms of morality and sexuality and in Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser portrayed a country girl who moved to the big city of Chicago to become a "kept woman," relinquishing her American morals for the pleasures of the flesh. Similarly, even in the stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, and Ernest Hemingway there are notions and reexaminations of…… [Read More]
Conditions Associated ith a Lack of Exercise/Physical Activity
Health is one of the most important things in people's lives, but individuals often fail to focus on this aspect because they concentrate on diverse tasks that they wrongly consider to be more important. As a consequence, many end up suffering greatly as a result of their irresponsible behavior. In addition to causing significant health problems in people's lives, sedentary living is also responsible for costing society billions of dollars every year. The fact that the masses often trick themselves into thinking that they are eventually going to start exercising is extremely worrying and leads to numerous health problems.
Figures associated with sedentary living are alarming, but this is still not enough to influence some people in changing their attitudes concerning the concept. On a yearly basis, "approximately 250,000 people die prematurely because they are inactive" (Corbin & Lindsay 43). Even with…… [Read More]
U.S. Military Institute Quarantine?
Law and Policy:
Can the U.S. Military Institute Quarantine Without Legal Issues?
Instituting a quarantine of large numbers of people within the United States would be complicated and difficult, but is it legal? More clearly, is it legal for the military to do such a thing without any kind of legislative or legal issue. If it is legal for the military to do this, there must be various requirements that have to be met in order to ensure that issues are handled properly. If it is not legal for the military to undertake such action, why not? And is there legislation being considered that would make this type of action legal? The question comes about in light of recent issues with the H1N1 "swine flu" scare, where many people thought the U.S. was going to be overtaken by this new strain of flu that would kill…… [Read More]
Unintended Limitations on Ada Protections
The American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was designed to prevent discrimination in terms of employment (Title I), telecommunications (Title IV), and public services (Title II), transportation (Title II), and accommodations (Title III), for persons with physical and/or mental disabilities (EEOC, n.d.; Disabled World, 2009). Employers and public establishments are required under the ADA to make accommodations for persons with disabilities, unless it imposes an undue hardship. To ensure compliance, a large number of different federal agencies act as enforcers of the ADA provisions.
The ADA defines a disabled person as anyone who is prevented from engaging in a major life activity, either currently or historically, or is perceived by others as being limited in this way. The latter criteria was intended to be one of three primary routes for bringing a discrimination suit to court, resulting in the 'regarded as' disabled…… [Read More]
Obesity in Los Angeles County
The United States, while being one of the most technologically developed countries in the world, is not a healthy nation. Typically, when we think of disease pandemics we think of things like Swine Flu, Ebola, Lyme disease, etc. However, in the 21st century, we have a new pandemic that affects our children, adults, and eventually the whole population. Because of a more sedentary lifestyle, a proclivity for fast food, a high-fat diet, and hundreds of sugary drinks, obesity is now statistically so rampant that it is having a serious effect on American's health. Almost every researcher, whether medical or academic, as well as the public health sector, agree that there are statistical links between what we ingest and the consequences to our overall health profile. Certainly, all we need to is walk down any grocery store aisle, open up most magazines and newspapers, or watch…… [Read More]
AIDS on South African Development
Today, the chromium, platinum, gold and diamond mining sectors provide the largest percentage of export revenues for South Africa. One of the inevitable consequences of these natural resource extraction industries is the proliferation of mining camps that house the migrant domestic and foreign workers from neighboring countries that support the industry. Although conditions vary, most mining camps are squalid affairs that lack running water, electricity or the other basic amenities of modern life that most people take for granted. These harsh living conditions, combined with the loneliness that results from being forced to spend long periods of time away from family and friends, create an ideal environment for the spread of communicable diseases, especially human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV / AIDS). This paper provides a review of the related primary and secondary literature concerning mining camps and their role in the spread…… [Read More]
Freedom Never Rests
Even though Freedom Never Rests is fictional, it is a very realistic book because it embraces actual events in South Africa after apartheid was ended. The plot of the book is built around the issue of water deliveries in South Africa. The protagonist is Monwabisi, whom author James Kilgore portrays as a trade union activist who has HIV and becomes distracted in several ways by his illness but maintains his defiance as much as he can.
Does he follow a single story or maintain an open mind?
The truth is Monwabisi does remain true to his fundamental beliefs and values but he has problems determining how exactly he fits into the new order of things after Mandela is elected and the democratic system is launched. Monwabisi is caught in the web of several issues. For one, with HIV he does not have the same relationship with his…… [Read More]
2001 there was an Anthrax attack which created an alert of how bioterrorism had an impact on the public health emergencies. These types of emergencies can not only spread illnesses but also cause several deaths. The can also affect government operations which include the economic growth, creating fear which can cause International crisis. There has been an alert on illnesses that have previously been curbed reappearing with most of them resisting the drugs in the market. There has also been an alert of the food supplies in the market due to the terrorists because they can be used to spread infections.
The public health system is highly responsible for detecting any bioterrorist attacks enabling the government to prepare for any attacks. This means that the government should enhance all infrastructure connected to health systems in order to integrate any threats related to biological or chemical terror attacks (Hamburg 2003).This is…… [Read More]
Safety Decisions in High School Football
This paper focuses on one aspect of high school football safety. The study explores the issue of higher levels of injury being associated with a particular brand or brands of football helmets worn by high school athletes who play football, and the institutional decisions and actions that follow disclosure of such information. A recent study by Virginia Tech rated helmets worn by professional football players -- helmets worn by high school students have not yet been rated by the university. The study compared helmets manufactured by three companies. High ratings were given to the iddell Speed, the iddell evolution, the iddell evolution IA, the Schutt Ion 4D, the Schutt DNA, and the Xenith X1. Medium ratings were given to the Schutt Air XP and Schutt Air Advantage. Players were warned by Virginia Tech not to wear the iddell VS4 and the Adams A2000. No…… [Read More]
Addictive Virus" -- later to become the thirteenth chapter of their bestselling book Affluenza -- John De Graaf, David ann, and Thomas H. Naylor engage in a highly rhetorical comparison of addictive shopping to physical addictions such as alcoholism and drug addiction and behavioral addictions like compulsive gambling. It becomes clear shortly into their paper that their purpose is largely alarmist and moralistic, rather than medically or therapeutically intended: none of the authors has any medical or psychiatric credentials. I hope by addressing three aspects of their paper -- their rhetorical strategy, their shifts in focus, and in particular their examples presented as evidence, particularly their closing example -- that I may show the ways in which their thoughts actually confuse rather than clarify issues of behavioral addiction.
The title alone of the essay gives, in miniature, a fair taste of De Graaf et al.'s rhetorical strategy: the phrase "the…… [Read More]