Argument Against Biosafety Levels

While it is accurate that the budget proposal by President Trump included cuts to programs such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) budget,8 there are many discrepancies in Dr. Not A. Scientist’s (Dr. N.A.S) article which I will be addressing. As stated in Dr. N.A.S’s op-ed, one of NIH’s goal is to utilize research and scientific resources in order to improve the health of Americans.8 Since we are using taxpayer dollars to fund such programs, it should be up to American citizens to direct where these funds are allocated. Transmission of infectious diseases is always a risk when globalization is

This article doesn’t contain an author, however the information used in the article comes from different government agencies and mainly the CDC.

What is unknown to many is that The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is in the vaccine business. Members

Roosenberg, M. (2016, 07 23). Procedures Faulted in Army Lab's Shipment of Anthrax. Retrieved from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/us/procedures-faulted-in-army-labs-shipment-of-anthrax.html

government ethics boards. This solution provides no room for community involvement or say in whether or not these trials should be preformed (Jintarkanon et al., par. 6). While a private organization would have the option of sending syringes and needles, the CDC keeps all of the decision-making under government control and ignores public opinion. The fact that nongovernmental voices are left out of the evaluation of the trials leaves more room for corruption and unethical behavior.

The impaction of the Biocontainment Unit is, faces highly contagious disease in the community and treats those illnesses as quickly as possible with a highly skilled, trained and experienced team. For example, Nebraska Biocontainment Unit had 3 Ebola patients in last year because the unit has the largest isolation facility which includes an air-handling system, high-level filtration and ultraviolet light, autoclaves, a dunk tank for laboratory specimens, etc. In the whole country, there are three biocontainment units, including Nebraska’s; however, they chose to send Ebola patients to the Nebraska unit because of staff, equipment and the way that unit was built.

Currently, one of the major problems in the world is the rapid change of our climate. Years of research and studies have linked climate change to the spreading and occurrence of many infectious diseases. Vectors and pathogens that were not able to spread to certain countries before because temperatures were too low for them to survive in are now being able to habituate these parts of the world because of how much warmer our planet is becoming. This is concerning to us because infectious diseases can increase death rates. Therefore, if our planet continues to get warmer, the more infectious diseases will spread, and the more humans will die. This research paper attempts to provide a better understanding on how diseases are spreading more

Spot checks done in two laboratories led to concerns about correct shipment and containment of organisms. This resulted in similar checks in several other labs and eventually to the suspension of production, handling and shipping of these viruses across nine laboratories. However, what no one knew until Thursday was that the Bubonic plague was among the organisms being tested and possibly incorrectly handled. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) had found several concerns about the shipment of these organisms, but at the moment there is nothing to suggest that the public or workers in these labs are at risk. The Army claims that the black plague was not a fully virulent strain, though that is still being confirmed by the CDC. They also state that the virus was immediately and properly contained, though further investigation is

An individual slowly, painfully, and agonizingly wanders into the emergency room. They complain of having a fever, vomiting profusely, and are experiencing a severe headache. The physician notices in the patient history that this individual recently went on an excursion to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. The physician inquires with the patient about their recent trip and the patient excitedly, but wearily, tells the doctor all about the African safari. The individual also informed the doctor that they arrived home just a few days ago and recalled coming across several dead fruit bats and even a large dead gorilla; in which he got close enough to take a picture with, similar to as if he was claiming it for a prize. With this information, the physician immediately sends the patient to the laboratory to have their blood drawn, mentioning in the order to handle the patient and the specimen with utmost care and caution. It is crucial for healthcare workers, especially phlebotomists, to practice proper standard precautions to prevent the spread of contagions and blood borne pathogens. The patient mentioned above would be a prime example for why such measures are taken and why the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has implemented particular protections. Every day phlebotomists are exposed to various infections, therefore, it is crucial that their daily practice concerning universal precautions does not fail; the consequences could be deadly

Ebola virus disease (EVD) policies globally has become a confusing and ongoing investigation among world governments and leaderships. The first diagnosis in America confirmed and made public by the Centers if Disease Control (CDC), was in Texas on September 20, 2014. The patient had developed symptoms around the fourth day after coming into the United States (CDC 2014). The patient had stated he did not pose any symptoms when he left West Africa. Upon falling ill, he went to a Texas hospital, and based upon the signs and symptoms he was presenting, the hospital performed a laboratory test. The test confirmed he was in fact positive for the virus, but to found in critical condition. Texas Presbyterian Hospital isolated the patient and unfortunately, the patient died from complications of the virus on October 8, 2014. As stated by DR. Tom Frieda (2014), Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “We will contact anyone we think has any likelihood of having had contact with the patient when he was infectious, starting with relatives he had been staying with” (para 2). Health officials stated that once contacts were identified, they would be monitored for 21 days, which is the incubation period for the virus, for any signs and symptoms of the infection. At that point, the person would be put into quarantine themselves (CDC 2014). The public remained uneasy and questioned what was going to be done to stop the virus

Although an infection may be rare or eradicated, specialists know how to care for them if an outbreak was to emerge. Additionally, the more the population and travel increase, the easier it is for infections to spread not only from person to person but from country to country (“What Is an Infectious Disease Specialist”). With the world population growing at great rates each year, it is vital for counties to prepare for the possible spread of a superbug at an exponential rate. To adequately prepare, there needs to be a great number of epidemiologists to devise action plans for the country and Infectious Disease Physicians to treat and isolate those who do become

During this age of information, any form of data is easily accessible to the general public. With this in mind, the threat and awareness of potentially population shifting pathogens can be distributed across the planet. This brings attention to public of not only what symptoms these particular pathogens and diseases cause, but also the best course of action to prevent and cure any ailment. The first course of action to clear the pathogens is to identify what type of microbe it is. In most to virtually all cases, the disease is the result of inflammation of either a bacteria or virus. Other than being microscopic and frequently parasitic, the two categories of microbes vary in many significant ways. Because their morphology and individual

A pandemic is a disease outbreak that is scaled at a global level. Our group looked at five important topics surrounding the issue of pandemics such as influenza, cholera, TB, malaria, and Antibiotic resistance. A common theme in judging the occurrence of a pandemic is to see how the disease diffuses among a population. Diseases diffuse into an area in a variety of ways. Diffusion requires an infected host, because the disease is dispersed by transmission amid hosts. It is essential to assess the transmission and epidemiology of diseases to implement appropriate methods of control and elimination of the disease.

Today, humankind is faced with various obstacles and challenges requiring global responses and solutions to the spread of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). EIDs can be defined as infections that are newly emerging or have existed previously in a particular region and then reemerged at a rapidly increasing incidence rate (Calistri et al., 2013). Many of the emerging infectious diseases today, including those caused by transboundary diseases and bioterrorist agents, are zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that are transmissible from both wild and domestic animals to humans (Kahn, 2006). The One Health concept, over the past few years, has generated a great deal of public attention with regards to viral zoonosis following

Infectious diseases are viruses, bacteria, or fungi that are transmitted from one another by contact, bodily fluids, or contaminated air, food, or water supply. The diseases make up one-fourth to one-third of worldwide deaths annually and are a major threat to human health. It was believed that vaccines, antibiotics, and public health had effectively eliminated the threat of infectious disease. Because of the belief that infectious diseases were a thing of the past, public health programs aimed at preventing and treating these diseases were neglected worldwide. This resulted in new and old diseases to reoccur. Many precautions should be taken to stop the spread worldwide and possibly eliminate these diseases, making the world a safer place for everyone, especially travelers.