Community Health

According to the Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases textbook aka “The Pink Book” (2015) which was produced jointly by the Communication and Education Branch, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Measles is a paramyxovirus with the primary site of infection in the nasopharynx. It has an incubation period of 10-12 days. The first symptoms to occur are fevers (increasing stepwise 103-105 degrees), cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis approximately 2-3 days after exposure and last 2-4 days. The second part of the infection occurs approximately 14 days after exposure; which is evidence by Koplik spots on the oral mucosa. Then, 1-2 days later, a maculopapular rash develops along the hair line, face,

An infection in my community would quickly become an outbreak of measles and would probably spread quickly infecting many and claiming lives of young and old. A Measles outbreak is a strong possibility due to a large religious group with thousands of members in my community that do not believe in vaccinations, and only allow for limited healthcare. Popular organic lifestyles and refusal of vaccinations are believed to have aided in spread of a recent outbreak of Measles in California. The virus detected in California was identical to one that caused a large outbreak in the Philippines last year. The California outbreak that was noted from December 2014 to February 2015 notes that there were 125 confirmed cases, and 15 of the cases were confirmed to have been linked to the

Facts and figures available to study the epidemiological data for the outbreak of measles include gathering suspected and confirmed cases of this disease from the World Health Organization. This is done by gathering serum samples from all suspected cases to determine if a measles specific immunoglobulin antibody is detected. This particular disease lives in the nose and throat of the infected individual and is considered contagious for a period of four days before the rash appears and for a further four days after the sighting of the rash.

A measles outbreak in my community would cause massive strain on our resources at the local level. Being the small community we are, the threat of spreading the disease is always a real concern. There are two banks, two gas stations, 18 churches and 5 schools within the county limits. The hospital in neighboring Pasquotank is relatively small for the areas it serves, the emergency room has eight fast track beds, twenty six main side (including tow trauma bays) and 13 chest pain beds, the other floors hold a maximum census of 30 with 6 nurses. The strain on the hospital and healthcare staff would be significant, the other floors stay at full census almost daily without any outbreaks. I do believe depending on the number affected it would be comparable to when the flu hits our community hard and the emergency room has long wait times and the chest pain unit is used as overflow for admitted patients without beds. These count for long stays and short supplies. The hospital requires all employees to be up to date on all vaccinations, however the risk to passing the disease to other patients is a concern. The fast track area is where we set up isolation for contagious disease, as it provides distance from the main but is still within close proximity to the nurse’s station. The need for all hands on

It is transmitted very easily through the air, when the person infected coughs or sneezes (Chang, 2015). Runny nose, fever, and the tell-tale rash are symptoms associated with this disease (Chang, 2015). Those particularly at risk include pregnant women, infants too young to have received immunization and those with a depressed immune system (Chang, 2015). Measles became a nationally recognized disease in 1912, with 6000 measles-related deaths in each year of that first decade (CDC, 2014). According to the CDC (2014) “In the decade before 1963 when a vaccine became available, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years of age. It is estimated 3 to 4 million people in the United States were infected each year. Also each year an estimated 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 4,000 suffered encephalitis (swelling of the brain) from

There are many viruses today that at one time were a deadly disease, however because of advances in technology and vaccinations, we no longer give them a second thought. Prior to the discovery of a vaccination, the United States reported a total of over 50,000 cases of measles outbreaks each year with 450-500 cases resulting in death. (NCIRD) Since the disbursement of an effective vaccination, the measles has been almost eradicated in the United States; however it is still abundant in other countries around the world. (The college of physicians of Philadelphia) Is this something we think of when we are traveling? Is it possible for people to visit or immigrate to the United States carrying the disease with

These two organizations have a similar functional and structural governmental level; both organizations tend to overlap on health care issues, diseases, preventions and education. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overlooks researches of new vaccines on a specific outbreak. It maintains static information of a given outbreak within a population and maintains up to date information of the progress and outcome of such outbreak. When an outbreak occurs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starts an investigation on how the outbreak began, the near by population is informed of such outbreak; the CDC takes preventive measures to ensure that the unaffected population is not affected. Once the outbreak is under control and the source is identified the CDC works towards providing the community with enough information about the preventive measures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also gives information about the source of the outbreak. This information is forward it to the Food and Drug Administration in order to start a recall product if the source is food or drug related.

Measles, a disease that once was thought to be practically extinct in America, is unfortunately again on the rise. In the year 2000, national leaders in the United States declared that measles had been eliminated within the country, however, from January 1, 2014 to August 29, 2014, there were 592 Measles cases in the United States (Koplowitz 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have attributed these cases to parents refusing to have their children vaccinated. Within the past two months, there have been 102 cases of measles reported in 14 states (Grady 1).

Hillsborough County, Florida is the 4th largest county in Florida. It is comprised of 1,048 square miles of land and 24 square miles of inland water area for a total of 1,072 square miles located midway along the west coast of Florida. It has a diverse culture of people cohabitating in a large community. Assessing the community allows you to see a broader picture of diversity and layers of multicultural issues that affect the community as a whole.

Childhood vaccinations have made headlines year after year since the beginning of time. Whether if it’s a moral or legal issue, it’s a safety issue to the public. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a total of 154 cases of the measles were reported in the United States, from January 1, 2015 to February 20, 2015. As of February 23rd, 2015 Sandee LaMotte, a CNN reporter, explained via the Centers for Disease Control has mentioned that the measles outbreak is continuing to grow daily. To address this particular issue is to thoroughly explain the importance of ethical and legal rights versus governmental officials’ laws and regulations.

An outbreak disease which is likely to be a potential disease in New Zealand is measles. This is a very contagious and deadly virus that has caused a huge amount of deaths during previous centuries. The main symptoms of this virus include a sore throat, fever, rashes and inflamed eyes. This disease is very hard to detect within two weeks of infection because you are not able to see clear signs or symptoms of measles. This outbreak, however, is not particularly new to New Zealand, as it has been previously seen here in the 1960s and but has started being witnessed in the upper north island and now occurring in the South Island. This essay will discuss, the outbreak, causes, and risks, impact and prevention of the measles virus.

Specifically, an individual named Kurt Simmons will travel to a country where the disease is common like Madagascar. While Kurt is enjoying his time in Madagascar he is exposed to measles when he is tutoring a child in a nearby school. The child coughs multiple times in Kurt’s direction exposing him to the disease. Kurt assumes the child has a common cold and doesn’t think much of it. When Kurt’s journey comes to a close he returns home and starts to develop a fever. He doesn’t think much of it since he assumes it was his body exhausted from travel. Throughout this time Kurt invites multiple people to his house exposing them the disease. Kurt then develops white spots inside his cheeks, rashes around his body diarrhea and other symptoms of the disease. He then goes to the doctor and gets diagnosed with measles. With further investigations it is found out Kurt has spread the disease to multiple individuals in his community. Dispersed throughout the narrative will be the critical information about the disease given from experts. For the measles episode, specialist Dr.Katz with the American Academy Pediatrics would illustrate that, “Before we had a measles vaccine, an estimated 500,000 cases of measles were reported each year. Along with the fact that in 1998, there were only 89 cases of measles in the United States with no measles-associated deaths.” Statistics like these will be able to reach an audience and inform

From January 1st to February 13th, 2015, there have been 141 reported cases of Measles in 17 states across America (citation). Measles is an infectious viral disease causing fever and a red rash on the skin, typically occurring in childhood. This infectious disease can be prevented by getting a vaccine. A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases. In the past 50 years, vaccinations have saved more lives worldwide than any other medical product or procedure. The intriguing story of vaccination goes all the way back to ancient Greece. Ever since the invention of the first vaccine more than two centuries ago, there has been plenty of controversy over the

Measles is a very infectious viral disease caused by the measles virus, and it is most common in children. Its main features include maculopapular rash, fever (more than 400 C), cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis. The disease is highly contagious and airborne, spreading through droplets of the secretions of the nose throat and mouth of an infected person. It develops in more than 90 percent of susceptible 10-12 days after exposure to a measles virus (Caserta, 2014)). The World Health Organization specifies that measles should be diagnosed in the Laboratories with the presence of IgM antibodies specific for measles in the serum of a suspected case (WHO, 2016). An outbreak of measles is said to occur if more than three

Although the multistate outbreak that occurred in the US was at a sporting event in Pennsylvania in 2007, the transmission of the virus started with a child from Japan. The twelve-year-old young man was in contact with 1, 250 people of the 265, 000 people that attended the event over ten days. Of those people, there were seven people epidemiologically linked to this young boy. Approximately two and one half days after traveling, the boy had an onset of a maculopapular rash and fever. Measles were suspected now; and the boy was put in isolation. It was confirmed measles by a blood test.