Community Health in the Event of a Sars Outbreak Essay

According to the book ¨An American Plague¨, At first no one realized that there was a sickness going around because it started on one street that was more of a street. They first doctor to notice this sickness was Dr.Hugh Hodge. He was a very respected doctor and he decided that the sickness was thought to be forgotten a plague called the yellow fever. The people were terrified when it was announced to the public, because there was no cure. The last time a civilization dealt with this fever it nearly killed 50% of their population.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a severe acute respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus named MERS-CoV. It is believed that the virus is found in camels and passed on to humans who are in contact or around infected animal. These camels are mainly located in Egypt, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia (WHO, 2015a). Those infected with MERS exhibit fever, cough, and shortness of breath, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Severe cases require patient to be put on mechanical ventilation or in an intensive care unit. It is also known to cause kidney failure and septic shock. The elderly, persons who are immunosuppressed, those who

In September of 2012, beginning in the country of Saudi Arabia, hospitals began seeing increased cases of a respiratory virus never before seen in humans. They named it Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. MERS is a viral respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. It was originally thought to have started there in Saudi Arabia. It was not until later that they were able to trace the origin back to Jordan starting in April of 2012. All outbreaks of MERS have been traced back to originating from the Arabian Peninsula (CDC, 2015a). Unfortunately, it is not known exactly how MERS was contracted in humans, but it is believed to have come from an animal source, probably from camels. Strains of MERS

People had little knowledge of germs and bacteria, and that there are trillions of these microscopic invaders everywhere you go. Therefore many people took little effort in keeping good hygiene and awareness of transmissible distances between people. The close contact of people made the spread of the virus effortless. People soon began

SARS is a respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus that was thought to have originated in Guangdong China but was not reported until

At the first possible outbreak of SARS, the nurse will need to follow protocol. The initiation of the protocol begins with an assessment of the patient. A doctor will determine if the patient is possibly infected with SARS by following the physical and epidemiologic criteria. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention mandates reporting to the all cases where the patient has pneumonia of an unknown origin, and could have recently been exposed of the SARS virus [ (Center of Disease Control, 2005) ]. Once the report has been made the community health nurse should have all hospitalized patients with respiratory symptoms questioned on their recent history and possibilities of contact with the virus. Next, the community health nurse needs to educate staff and the community about possible ways to contract SARS, and encourage behaviors such as, frequent hand washing, covering their nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing, and using and properly disposing of tissues for respiratory secretions. [ (Center of Disease Control, 2005) ] Once health care members and the public are educated on the route of transmission they can prevent being exposed. Confirmed infected patients would be transferred to Seattle, where they can be in isolation rooms, patients can be more critically monitored, and research centers can be of benefit to

Infectious epidemics and pandemics have happened all through mankind's history. “They remain the prime cause of death worldwide and will not be conquered during our lifetimes.” The flu of 1918 was one of the deadliest epidemics in history. “It infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic.” No one knew how the virus spread, there were no antibiotics to fight it, and no flu shots to prevent it. In the final year of World War I, it struck terror in the hearts of people all across Europe and left more death in its wake than the combined military actions of the combatants. “It killed more Americans in a few months than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the

A study of Hong Kong cases revealed that several factors contributed to the spread and treatment of this virus. These included weather, quarantine, personal protective gear, and possibly animal transmission (Lin, Yee-Tak Fong, Zhu, & Karlberg, 2005).

The symptoms of SARS are very similar to a cold or the flu, although shortness of breath can occur in some people if the disease becomes more established (Thiel, 2007). The vast majority of people recover on their own. Diagnosis is made based on symptoms as well as travel to regions where SARS was seen and/or contact with someone who had SARS within 10 days of the onset of symptoms (Smith, 2006). Treatment of SARS includes isolation so as not to

SARS is known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. SARS is caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). There is no known vaccine for SARS; however, most people can recover from SARS or even maintain the disease with the help of therapy and advanced machines.

Influenza is a virus that is transmitted mainly via airborne process, which is one of the fastest mode of transmission. It is transmitted though airborne due to symptoms such as coughing and sneezing of the host (the infected). The host sneezes and coughs, influenza can easily be transmitted the agent via droplets and small microorganism, therefore entering the uninfected though the respiratory system (mouth and nasal) (WHO, 2016). Another way the virus can lead to pandemic, is due to the fact that the number of human and animals continue to grow and interact. Thus, the pandemic of influenza type A is possible. This mode of transmission is both and; the airborne (respiratory system) and physically (hand contamination). The customarily begins in rural areas (farms) as the virus can be found in hosts such as horses, pigs, chickens and birds. There has been an undetected interchange of the disease among animals and humans in rural environments which then eventually grows to become a global pandemic (Webster, RG & Monto, AS et al 2013, Textbook of influenza). The virus may continue to spread physically due to hand contamination in public; these may include door handles, public transport and other hand held hold objects. The last mode of transmission is genetically, this may then lead to asthma or even death (WHO,

SARS appears to spread by close person-to-person contact. It is thought that transmission is most readily occurred through respiratory droplets. These can be produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets are propelled through the air and are deposited on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of a person that is nearby. It is also possible that the virus can spread when a person touches a surface or object contaminated with infectious droplets and then touches their mouth, nose, or eyes. Furthermore, it is possible that SARS-CoV might be airborne spread or by other methods that are not yet known.

The pandemic also has dire impacts on the demographics of a country. This impact is usually more difficult to assess as it is largely dependent on data from birth and death certificates, and health records, all of which are poor or almost non-existent in that part of the world. Due to this, life expectancy at birth has fallen, dramatically, and the population structure has changed shape eroding years of progress made by many African countries. This obviously

Respiratory symptoms of this virus can be fever, cough, shortness of breath, and pneumonia. Patients can also have gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. If the patient becomes severely ill, they may have a respiratory failure and would be placed on a respirator or a ventilator. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website, "Approximately 27% of patients with MERS have died." The organization also claims that the virus causes a severer disease in the elderly, people with a weak immune system, and people that may gave a chronic disease.

SARS has said to be caused by the novel corona virus. Each time this virus copies itself, it changes very slightly. A virologist, Mark Denison, says, Corona viruses mutate for a living. When it comes to dealing with science many people begin to question. Are we being told just what we would like to hear or the actual truth? In Beijing, US News reports: Official media said only that there was a minor problem in Guangdong province and that it was under control.