Communicable Disease Outbreak

Communicable diseases, according to Wang and Tao (2010), are those that can get transferred from one individual to another as well as from an animal to a human being. They are contagious infections because of their nature of being easily spread. The mode of the spread is always through airborne bacteria or viruses as well as via body fluids. The rate at which the communicable diseases spread in the recent past has become alarming due to the high mobility of the worlds population. There have been changes in vaccination practices of the diseases that were believed to be under control (Wang and Tao 2010), and this confirms the seriousness of the conditions. Some of the communicable diseases that are rampant today are measles, respiratory syndrome coronavirus, influenza, and meningococcal disease. This paper analyzes influenza as an infectious disease that is a menace worldwide.

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Influenza, also known as the flu, is a respiratory illness that is contagious and is caused by the influenza virus. The virus chiefly is in poultry, but infection by this virus can as well occur in human beings and other animals. The best way to prevent the flu from spreading, is vaccination against it each year. .

The regions where influenza disease is rampant are the Republic of Korea in North Asia, the strain being A(H5N8) where it was reported in the year 2009 and also in November 2014 in Nothern Germany, and Israel, Oman, and Jordan in Western Asia as reported in the year 2009, (Coker, Atun and McKee, 2008).

The transmission routes of influenza are through three ways that are: firstly, by contact with objects that are contaminated with the virus. Secondly by inhalation of aerosols that have the viruses and lastly, direct contact with individuals who are infected (Wang and Tao 2010). Spread through contact with contaminated objects is because people who are infected tend to touch their noses in the process of sneezing or coughing hence coming into contact with nasal secretions. This results to the viruses remaining on objects that they touch and the viruses can quickly spread to healthy individuals when they come into contact with such objects. Preventing the proliferation of the disease by this process, can be avoided by covering the nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing.

The risk factors of the disease are the infected people coming in contact with the uninfected. In the event of the contact, results are a high spread of the illness as the viruses are airborne making it easy to spread through the wind as the healthy people inhale the air.

The influenza disease being a highly contagious disease when it affects a system as a school, the effects are tragic because the spread is so fast (Goldsmith, 2011). The side effects of influenza that can the affected community willhave to deal with are runny nose, sore throat, achiness and cough. These symptoms can spread faster in the social set up is effective measures are not taken at the right time. The reporting procedure for the disease in the event that there is an outbreak is as follows: the physicians and healthcare workers are obliged to report to the authority ofany notifiable symptoms that comes to their knowledge. Other people like the householders or hospitals also have the obligation to report the existence of the disease. In the report, the following information has to be available for easy of dealing with managing the disease: name, age, diagnosis, gender and date of report for each patient as well as some suspected cases (Goldsmith, 2011). The usefulness of this information is that it can be used to study the trend of illness and its management. In the process of reporting, the privacy of the patient should be respected at all times.

According to Coker, Atun and McKee, (2008), some of the followings measures can be used by a person suspecting to have contracted influenza or has been confirmed to have contracted the disease need to take. The person should avoid contact with other people so as to prevent the spread. The infected should get antiviral drugs to prevent serious flu complications. These should be taken within two days of infection for them to be effective, and they need to follow the doctors instructions. For people with higher risks of getting infected as well as spreading it to other people, a recommendation of yearly vaccination is required. Dissemination of the disease information to the community can also be the best way of controlling it. The community will know what to do at the time the disease is reported to be spreading (Coker, Atun and McKee, 2008). Its symptoms if well known by a majority of people, can lead to them taking the necessary measures for preventing its spread. Furthermore, information about the vaccination against the disease annually is essential in managing it in any population. This action will ensure that the virus is contained before it becomes dangerous as only a few people will have contracted it and its control will as well be easy (Wang and Tao 2010)

Conclusion

Communicable diseases have been described as those that are highly contagious and are mostly spread through the air by sneezing and coughing by the infected persons. In this work, influenza, as a communicable disease has been discussed in details. Some of the countries where the disease is prevalent have been mentioned during the years of the disease being reported as a threat. There has also been a discussion of the diseases epidemiological determinants of its outbreak as well as its effect on a community at a system level. Protocols to be followed while reporting the disease has been outlined, and strategies for its management finally has been discussed

References

Coker, R., Atun, R. A., & McKee, M. (2008). Health systems and the challenge of communicable diseases: Experiences from Europe and Latin America. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press.

Goldsmith, C. (2011). Influenza. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books.

Wang, Q., & Tao, Y. J. (2010). Influenza: Molecular virology. Norfolk, UK: Caister Academic