Communicable Diseases of Public Health Importance
CMG Buttery, Jane L. Moore(VDH).
Concept
Control of acute infectious disease is one of the oldest public health practices. It just as important today even as new infectious diseases such as SARS, Monkeypox, Avian Influenza and H1N1 (Or the latest HN combination of the week) Flu strains, and currently the Zika virus,emerge to take the place of those diseases previously brought under control. The Infectious disease models for this session are HIV, TB and Childhood Immunizations.
Key Words
AIDS, HIV, False & True Positives, High Risk groups, High Risk behaviors, quarantine, incidence, prevalence, chronic, acute, incubation period, antibody, disease, vaccine, immunity, Pasteur, eradication, cost-benefit, law & regulations, high risk populations, Sexually Transmissible Diseases (STDs), Substance AbuseObjectives
After reviewing these three groups of infectious diseases the student should be able to describe- policy making approaches used to control infectious disease outbreaks in a community or nation.
- when and how quarantine may be useful in protecting the community from particular individuals with these diseases, based on the use of modern epidemiologic principles.
- How the community models for control of HIV, STDs, TB, and Immunizations have changed since W.W.II,
- Why these diseases still remain problems.
Vaccine Preventable Childhood Diseases
Despite many resources devoted to full immunization of children by 2 years of age, the U.S. still lags behind many other developed and under-developed countries. You should be able to discuss why strategies that work in almost every other country fail in the US. Are the issues cultural, behavioral, failure of communication, or political? Also view this site and click on your state.
HIV as a model:
for a relatively recently emerged (within the last 30 years) disease of public health significance. It also provides a model to study issues of policy, politics and practice, particularly how such models can deter acquisition of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
TB was under control 30 years ago
Students should be able to describe why, despite availability of antibiotics, this disease has become less controllable and more widespread in the U.S. and the world, particularly Africa and Asia. Closing of TB sanitaria in most states by the middle of the 1980s was a contributor to loss of control of TB programs when it became very difficult to quarantine those affected to a place of quarantine other than local jails which are not staffed to provide quarantine care.
References
(Scan) Web pages of CDC & IOM
Paul A Offitt MD: The Cutter Incident. Yale University press. 2005
Arthur Allen. Vaccine, Morton & Company. 2007
Rx for Survival - Rise of the Superbugs And How Safe are We? PBS series - On-Line and 3CD set. 2006
Reading
Introduction to Public Health: Schneider 4th and 5th Edns - Chapters 9 & 10
Essays - number 7CDC 2014 HIV Guidelines, keep at hand while reviewing the HIV section of this week's topics. (Focus on sections1 & 3, dip into the other sections at will).
Continue to Lecture