Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
Help Received: CDC website, Baylor College of Medicine, and PubMed.
Significances
Emerging/ re-emerging diseases are infections that appear in a population that is increasing or has the potential to rapidly increase. They can be caused by: unknown agents for that area, known agents that spread to new areas, or re-emergence of an agent that had previously been largely declined. Animals have been known to be large vectors for disease and can be a big factor in spread and re-emergence of infectious diseases. A zoonotic disease is a disease that is obtained by an animal vector.
Most animals that are vectors for disease are wild, however some can be domesticated. Many diseases are spread through rats, mice, bats, mosquitos, and other wild game and insects. Some common examples of zoonotic diseases are: Ebola, salmonellosis, swine flu, and bird flu.
Social and Cultural Issues
During a major outbreak, society is largely impacted in a variety of ways. One of the largest ways is Psychologically. Panic and fear become prevalent during a disease outbreak and can also cause paranoia. Also, economic issues arise as healthcare systems attempt to eradicate diseases. Healthcare can be very expensive and not everyone can afford to go to the doctor.
Issues in Human Response
When healthcare or economic issues arise, people will often resort to home remedies that most of the time do not work and contribute to even more spread of disease. Much like in the influenza outbreak during the war. Many people were dying, and the American people were living in fear. People would make their own “medicines” and give them out to others in hopes that it would help just a little.
The Next Big Outbreak
The WHO has measures in place for the next pandemic. There is even a guide book that one can find on their website that has steps that one can take if there was a spread of an infectious disease, and how to prevent catching certain diseases. However, to say that the world is prepared for the next pandemic is not simply a “yes” or “no” answer. There are a few things to look at to see if the world is actually prepared. The largest one being: “What disease is spreading?”. There are certain diseases that the WHO is prepared for and has stockpiles of drugs for in case of an outbreak. However, there are other diseases that people may not even know about that could potentially decimate a large number of people.
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