Description
Please response to at least three classmates answer to discussion board aboutHumanitarian Aids in Disaster and public health issues in disasters. Please have a look!
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Response to a blackboard classmates discussions, separately responses with it’s references.
Classmate One.
Bader Alkhaldi
Week 7
COLLAPSE
Vaccines have significantly reduced the risk of infectious diseases. The necessary vaccines for
children were enforced in the US by means of school and childcare standards. Although the
evident success rate of a vaccination program against dangerous pathogens, anti-vaccine
movement is still active in the world today (Cataldi et al., 2018). Today, vaccines have a clean
bill of safety record, as several “vaccine scares’ are emerging to be false alarms.
The main function of a surveillance system for public health is to gather and analyze data on
health status and disease-risk factors in the population in a sort of way that leads to disease
prevention and control. In countries affected by war or civil strife, the public health system
susceptible to fail to report data about the current situation. In Afghanistan, communicable
diseases cause more than 50% of all morbidity and mortality. Most of these diseases can be
avoided by basic interventions and vaccinations for public health (Kapur & Smith, 2010). The
government has shown progress in health surveillance system by cooperating with international
organizations like WHO and UNICEF to implement immunization program. However, Vaccine
coverage levels are considered to be over-reported due to corruption, misconduct, and safety
issues. And accordingly, infectious diseases like Polio continued to threat thousands of children.
Eradicating diseases usually require a significant level of population immunity that can cover all
the regions within the world over the long-term, utilizing adequate surveillance (Kapur & Smith,
2010). The currently targeted disease is polio, which still serves as a global challenge, although
the polio vaccine has touched a broad scope of the world, leading to the complete elimination of
polio Type 2.
The public health should consider an early strategic planning for emerging respiratory pathogens
and well strategies for patient triage and laboratory exams and diagnosis. Once the the cases
confirmed to be new infectious disease , the surveillance system will disseminate that fact to take
the highest precautions in regional hospitals (Kapur & Smith, 2010).
On the other hand,there are many infictious diseases, like Zika virus disease, do not have
vaccines due to the highly costs to develop the vaccines comparing to the low impact of the
pathogens. Treatment involves relieving symptoms by conservative treatment without the use of
a specific vaccine. According to the WHO, as of 28 January 2016, 23 countries in the Americas
reported cases with Zika virus (Basundra et al. 2016). Global health authorities should therefore
set up an effective public health surveillance system for effective containment and control of
ZIKV. it can be derived from other viral diseases such as malaria, influenza and other viral
diseases.
The 2012 Hurricane Sandy severely impacted New York, mostly N.Y.C., its towns, and Long
Island. This catastrophe made the government develop and execute agencies like FEMA and
Homeland Security Department (D.H.S.). These reactions to incidents highlighted the need for
improved contingency plans and collaboration among all levels of emergency management (Lin
et al., 2014). In 2012. Superstorm Sandy caused several damages on the eastern coastline. One
lesson learned from Katrina by the government was permitting states to declare an emergency
state afore the crisis. States like New York reported a crisis state and other states to assist with
power challenges arising from Sandy (Lin et al., 2014). These were several logistical challenges
with Sandy. Most areas of N.Y.C. forced people for temporary housing meanwhile N.Y.C. was
not logistically prepared for mobile homes. Another challenge was the power problem whereby
two million individuals did not have power, and a national power restoration task force was
established that collaborated with the state and other agencies’ in restoring power to those in
need.
According to the New York University Langone Medical Center spokesperson, Power was cut
and backup generators that operated before the storm stopped. Two hundred and fifteen patients
had to be evacuated to nearby hospitals — the N.Y.U. Basement and lower levels were flooded
with water at ten to twelve feet. N.Y.C. crisis medical services faced several problems and
challenges amid the storm linked with flooding, closure, and hospital evacuation. Nonetheless,
many hospitals were compelled to close amid the storm. Since Hurricane Sandy, the government
became effective at pre-deploying emergency resources before the storm. The government
likewise combines federal assets into state and local levels and collaborating with non-traditional
first responders like faith-based organizations that in several situations, arrive at the disaster site
afore FEMA does.
References
Cataldi, J. R., Dempsey, A. F., Allison, M. A., & O’Leary, S. T. (2018). Vaccine, 36(30), 4525-
4531.
Kapur, G. B., & Smith, J. P. (2010). Emergency public health: Preparedness and response. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Lin, N., Emanuel, K. A., Smith, J. A., & Vanmarcke, E. (2014). Risk assessment of hurricane storm surge for
New York City. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 115(D18).
Sumeena Basundra, Ravishekar N Hiremath, Rakesh Khajuria, & Sandhya Ghodke. (2016). Zika Virus: An
Emerging Public Health Challenge. Journal of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University, 5(3), 5–12.
Classmate Two.
1 day ago
week 7
Haifa-Mohammed Alhazmi
COLLAPSE
First, there are many public health issues, but the most important issues that
concern me is water and sanitation. The provision of safe water and sanitation is
critical to control the transmission of waterborne diseases such as cholera. Cholera is a
diarrhoeal disease caused by infection with the bacteria Vibrio cholera. It is a waterand foodborne disease with person-to-person transmission resulting from poor
hygiene, limited access to sanitation, and inadequate water supply, which all
contribute to the rapid progression of an outbreak (Taylor 2015). Many studies have
shown that clean water and sanitary environments are needed for the prevention of
diseases. According to Montgomery ” No end to cholera without basic water,
sanitation, and hygiene”. World Health Organization recommends a response
focussing on reducing mortality by ensuring prompt case management and reducing
morbidity by providing safe water, adequate sanitation, and health promotion.
A recent humanitarian crisis that has been associated with infectious diseases due
to the lack of access to clean water. In 2017, famine was declared in two counties in
South Sudan, over seven million people are in need of aid, including around 6.9
million people experiencing hunger. The political conflict adversely impacted on the
Sudanese health in many different ways has caused massive displacement, dire food
shortages, and damaged the water infrastructure. As a human, we need water so if the
people will using dirty water there is a high possibility of spreading infectious
diseases such as cholera outbreak. The outbreak was declared on 18 June 2016 and
spread to many parts of the country, including the capital Juba. As of 17 November,
communities along the River Nile are worst affected and account for 91 percent of
reported cholera cases.
To manage the issue, I would recommend providing clean water and proper
sanitation to populations, people should also be helped to reconstruct toilets or
provide mobile toilets that people can use to prevent the contamination of the
remaining sources of clean water. Health education and good food hygiene,
communities should be reminded of basic hygienic behaviors, including the necessity
of systematic hand- washing with soap after defecation and before handling food or
eating. Finally, after a long time, South Sudan declared the end of its longest and
largest cholera outbreak on Wednesday, February 07, 2018.
Taylor, D. L., Kahawita, T. M., Cairncross, S., & Ensink, J. H. (2015). The Impact of
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions to Control Cholera: A Systematic
Review. PloS one, 10(8), e0135676. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135676
Mercy Corps (2019), Quick facts: What you need to know about the South Sudan
crisis. Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/southsudan/south-sudan-crisis
Montgomery, M., Jones, M. W., Kabole, I., Johnston, R., & Gordon, B. (2018). No
end to cholera without basic water, sanitation and hygiene. Bulletin of the World
Health Organization, 96(6), 371–371A. doi:10.2471/BLT.18.213678
WOH (2018) South Sudan declares the end of its longest cholera outbreak. Retrieved
07 February 2018, from: https://www.afro.who.int/news/south-sudan-declares-end-itslongest-cholera-outbreak
Reply Quote Email Author
Classmate Three.
posted 2 days ago (last edited 1 day ago)
week 7
Mohammed Alghamdi
COLLAPSE
Water and Sanitation
The improved water supply, hygiene, and sanitation interventions have resulted in a
reduction in parasitic infections, morbidity &mortality, an increase in child growth, and fewer
diarrhea cases. Moreover, an increase in the quantity of water has more significant benefits than
the improved water quality for people to adopt safer hygiene behaviors. Also, the introduction of
programs in schools to improve hand washing behaviors, which is incorporated with traditional
hygiene practices, has dramatically improved the public health of many schools (Kapur & Smith,
2010).
Furthermore, Inter-agency such as Focusing Resources on Effective School Health
(FRESH) aims to improve the quality of schools and child-friendly learning environments
around the world. They ensure guidelines are implemented to monitor and evaluate school
hygiene & sanitation projects to ensure the safety of the students in schools. However, Scientists
have also stated the construction of sanitation and water supply facilities is not enough to
improve the health in the communities. They suggest infrastructure investment should
accompany public health initiatives to realize the full potential of public Health (Cross &
Coombes, 2013).
The humanitarian Crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing acute malnutrition, epidemics, and
armed conflict. Also, the occurrence of severe floods has led to cholera and Ebola outbreak,
leading to the death of hundreds of people. The severe wide spread of this infectious diseases has
caused massive scare among the communities in the country. Moreover, the floods destroy
drinkable water sources promoting contamination. The contaminated water could lead to serious
medical implications such as diarrhea if not treated. Lastly, due to the fact the country is
experiencing a civil war has led to many mother’s not offering their young one’s adequate
vaccination. It results to poor malnutrition and the children suffer from opportunistic diseases
(Msoka, 2007).
How to manage the above humanitarian crisis
The building of latrines and houses in conflict-affected regions will increase water access to
the people affected in the community. Also, by providing safe and drinkable water to areas with
contaminated water sources to avoid any water borne disease. Moreover, people should be
trained on how to initiate health care service and how to treat infectious disease such as the
cholera outbreak. This initiative will also help target mothers to enable vaccination of the
children to avoid death due to opportunistic diseases (Pusterla, 2016).
References
Cross, P., & Coombes, Y. (2013). Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa: Where do We Stand? IWA
Publishing.
Kapur, G. B., & Smith, J. P. (2010). Emergency Public Health: Preparedness and Response.
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Msoka, G. A. (2007). Basic Human Rights and the Humanitarian Crises in Sub-Saharan Africa:
Ethical Reflections. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Pusterla, F. (2016). The European Union and Humanitarian Crises: Patterns of Intervention.
London, England: Routledge.
Classmate Four.
Morton Disease Prevention
Zorina Morton
COLLAPSE
Evidence is a key component in identifying trends and changing practices, especially in the
public health field. Choose a public health topic that you are especially passionate about. (e.g.,
water and sanitation, vaccinations, infectious disease, etc.) Discuss how studies/research support
your views (for or against).
I am passionate about disease eradication; therefore, this anti-vaccine campaign inflames
me severely. There has been a resurgence of many vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.
There is no reason that measles has resurged; measles was eliminated, which is different than
eradicated. Anti- Vaccers believe that disease where becoming eradicated prior to immunization
due to better sanitation and other socio-economic conditions (WHO, 2013). While these factors
can be attributed to the reduction of disease, they cannot be considered the sole considerations.
In public health, it is difficult to prove a causal relationship. For example, people say
smoking causes cancer, which is incorrect. Smoking can be attributed to higher risks of cancer
because not all smokers develop cancer. Therefore, anti-vaccers saying that better conditions are
the reason for disease eradication is incorrect (WHO, 2013). While improved living conditions,
the proximity of housing have indirectly impacted disease transmission, incidence cases of
diseases have significantly decreased due to the interventions of antibiotics and immunizations
(WHO, 2013).
Another issue with this campaign is the definitions used; measles was never eradicated; it
was eliminated in the United States. These terms are not interchangeable, eliminated means
reduction in incidence cases to zero in a defined geographical area for twelve months (CDC,
1999). While eradication is the permanent reduction to zero in the world (CDC, 1999), this
communicates falsities and myths that the government is implanting infections in specific
communities. There are only two diseases that have been eradicated smallpox and rinderpest,
which only affects animals. The reason that smallpox was eradicated was due to global education
and vaccines (Strassburg,1982). Not only were vaccines used but surveillance to contain
suspected cases and confirmed cases (Strassburg, 1982). This is difficult now with politics where
people can fill out exemption forms and pick up and move.
As of November 2015, there were a total of 804 cases of measles in individuals who had
no previous history of immunization (Phadke, 2016). There were seven different outbreaks of
measles from 2000-2015. Of the 970 reported cases, 874 cases were in unvaccinated individuals
who were eligible to receive the vaccine (Phadke, 2016).
These studies support the well know fact that vaccines help to decrease and or eliminate
diseases. History has shown what happens when populations are not vaccinated; you get
smallpox, measles, tetanus, etc. Herd immunity only works if the threshold is more than 90
percent of the population is protected (Funk, 2017). If people continue to opt-out of vaccines, the
herd immunity will continue to fall well below the threshold. Counter campaigns need to be
posted everywhere, educating people on the truth and myths of immunizations.
I could talk about disease prevention, transmission, disease, anything forever.
Choose a recent international or humanitarian crisis. What were public health issues associated
with this incident? How would you manage these issues?
A recent humanitarian crisis is currently occurring in Venezuela and surrounding
countries. There is severe economic and political instability caused by a decline by the countries
revenue streams (US AID, 2019). The economic reduction has lead to hyperinflation;
humanitarian workers have identified health, water, sanitation as urgent needs in Venezuela (US
AID, 2019). Due to the shortage of basic necessities and affordable goods has caused a mass
exodus to neighboring nations, including Brazil, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago (US AID, 2019).
An estimated 4.3 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2014 due to the crisis (Grillet
et al., 2019). This influx is straining the neighboring countries’ borders, and resources, the
president of Venezuela has requested and additional 119 million dollars from the U.S. (Grillet et
al.,2019). I think that money should go toward rebuilding a public health infrastructure because
addressing political issues is highly unlikely. Immunizations, nutrition, and psychological aid are
the areas that need immediate attention. Venezuela has had a 359% increase in malaria compared
to 71% in 2017, and cases continue to rise (Grillet et al., 2019). Neighboring countries have also
experienced a growth in imported cases of malaria; Brazil has seen 1,591 incident cases in 2017
(Grillet et al., 2019). Other diseases are also on the rise such as Dengue, Chagas, Zika, and
Chikungunya (Grillet et al., 2019). This humanitarian aid crisis is quickly spreading and may
turn into a multi-regional outbreak of these infections. The funding, if not all, a significant
portion needs to go towards public health infrastructure.
Reference
CDC. (1999). The Principles of Disease Elimination and Eradication. Retrieved October 10,
2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su48a7.htm.
Phadke, V. K., Bednarczyk, R. A., Salmon, D. A. & Omer, S. B. (2016). Association Between
Vaccine Refusal and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States: A Review of
Measles and Pertussis. JAMA, 315(11), 1149–1158. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.1353
Strassburg, M. A. (1982). The global eradication of smallpox. American Journal of Infection
Control, 10(2), 53–59. doi: 10.1016/0196-6553(82)90003-7
Tami, A., Grillet, M. E., Paniz-Mondolfi, A., Oletta, J., Llewellyn, M. S., Hernández-Villena, J.
V., & Márquez, M. (2019). Resurgence of Vector-Borne and Vaccine-Preventable
Diseases in Venezuela in Times of a Complex Humanitarian Health Crisis: A Regional
Menace. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 34(s1). doi: 10.1017/s1049023x1900030x
US AID. (2019). Venezuela: Disaster Assistance. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from
https://www.usaid.gov/crisis/venezuela-regional.
WHO. (2013). Six common misconceptions about immunization. Retrieved October 10, 2019,
fromhttps://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/detection/immunization_misconceptio
ns/en/index2.html.
Funk S. (2017). Critical immunity thresholds for measles elimination [PDF File] Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2017/october/2._target_immunity_leve
ls_FUNK.pdf
Reply Quote Email Author
Classmate Five.
2 days ago
Ahmed Althobaiti
week 7
COLLAPSE
Evidence-based practice has revolutionized trends in the management of public health.
The availability of evidence offers grounds for evaluation of public health issues and parameters
for assessing intervention mechanisms. Management and monitoring of infectious diseases in
public health practice rely on evidence (Sutherland, Pullin, Dolman, & Knight, 2004). Although
the utilization of evidence in examining contagious diseases has yielded impressive results,
not every data is pertinent in controlling public health emergencies. The unpredictability
and vicissitudes in outbreaks of infectious diseases require constant research in screening
new risks and validating existing evidence. Public health management is a practice that
should rely on evidence.
The outbreak of Zika virus raises concerns on practices of public health. The virus
epidemic that occurred between 2015 and 2016 caused panic in many countries. Initially, the
consequences of the virus that is spread by Aedes mosquitoes were underestimated (Zammarchi
et al., 2015). The rapid virus transmission caught the attention of researchers as they attempted to
seek a remedy. The analysis of previous occurrences played an instrumental role in controlling
the outbreak. Studies established that international travelers from or to specific regions such as
French Polynesia carried high-risk levels (Calvet et al., 2018). Countries were required to
monitor travel patterns when screening suspected cases. Public health caution on travels was
vital in the management of the global crisis.
Controlling the Zika virus was an international concern. Although the management of the
virus was fairly conducted in regions experiencing the outbreak, several intervention measures
could have assisted in providing a quicker remedy. Analysis of existing evidence on trends of the
virus, causes, and prevention was vital in the management of the contagious disease. Also,
intensive public awareness was necessary for mitigating the disease outcomes. The outbreak
provided crucial lessons in the utilization of evidence when addressing public health concerns.
The unpredictability and fluctuations in outbreaks of viruses require constant research
and data collection to know more about the infectious diseases and be able to control them.
Public health management is a practice that should rely on evidence. Timely intervention
measures are of great importance to limiting the spread of a virus and preventing future
outbursts.
References
Calvet, G. A., Kara, E. O., Giozza, S. P., Bôtto-Menezes, C. H. A., Gaillard,
P., de Oliveira Franca, R. F., … & de Mello, M. B. (2018). Study on
the persistence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in body fluids of patients with
ZIKV infection in Brazil. BMC Infectious Diseases, 18(1), 49. Doi:
10.1186/s12879-018-2965-4
Sutherland, W. J., Pullin, A. S., Dolman, P. M., & Knight, T. M. (2004). The
need for evidence-based conservation. Trends in Ecology &
Evolution, 19(6), 305-308. Doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2004.03.018
Zammarchi, L., Stella, G., Mantella, A., Bartolozzi, D., Tappe, D., Günther,
S., … & Schmidt-Chanasit, J. (2015). Zika virus infections imported to
Italy: Clinical, immunological and virological findings, and public
health implications. Journal of Clinical Virology, 63, 32-35.
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2014.12.005
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
