Hepatitis Strain Case Study

The Willowbrook research also contributed to the public debate over research ethics and the impetus for regulation” (NAP, 2004). This research does not downplay the egregious acts of the research or coercing family members or guardians to consent to the research study through allowing entry into the school via the experiment venue. The residents of the school suffered while being exposed to a live hepatitis virus and while living in severely unsanitary conditions with undertrained and unsupervised staff that performed acts of violence on residents of the school. “Children were sitting on the floor, some nude covered in feces, rocking back and forth making pitiful sounds. Willowbrook was a state school, yet there was very little education happening. This was simply a dumping ground for the city’s unwanted children. The staff, overwhelmed and under-supervised, resorted to prison-style control tactics: disruptive residents were confined in solitary ‘‘pits’’ and left for hours or were beaten with keys and sticks” (Starogannis & Hill, 2008, p. 89). Evidently the research setting was not the optimal setting; the research was performed during a time when guidelines were nonexistent. Protection of the residents was put aside to reach for a vaccine that would aid many more than were affected which places into question the ethical behaviors of the determining entities.

In this case study, there were a few incidents of violations of ethics. In 1998, Callahan recommends that researchers should follow the three ethical issues: Autonomy, beneficence, and human justice. Autonomy is the first ethical principle that a researcher should respect the participate and make sure that informed consent has been given. The participates of this study was not aware the risk or what the study was about and actually could not give consent legally because they were minors. Johnson and Tudor did not give full disclosure of this research to the minors, teachers, or matrons at the orphanage. Beneficence is the second ethical principle; the researcher should maximize

Lab test results show a positive anti-HCV and confirm that Chad has Hepatitis C. The nurse explains to Chad that Hepatitis is liver disease with inflammation of the cells of the liver. Chad states "I can't have Hepatitis. I had all three of the vaccinations before I started working as a paramedic."

I think it is important to have general guidelines to follow in order to prevent experiments like the Tuskegee Study and the Willowbrook study. The Willowbrook study involved a group of children diagnosed with mental retardation, living at the Willowbrook State Hospital in Staten Island, NY. The experimenters wanted to study the history of the hepatitis virus when left untreated, so the children were intentionally infected with the disease. The scientists tried to justify the experiment saying the children would have eventually been infected while at Willowbrook anyway, so it would be better for them to be infected under controlled, scientific research conditions. They also tried to convince the parents that if they enrolled in the study, their children would be given admission into the hospital (which was intentionally short of space). (Marsden & Melander)

The Willowbrook hepatitis experiments were conducted from the years 1966 to 1963 by Dr. Saul Krugman and during those 3 years approximately seven hundred children were infected with either hepatitis A or hepatitis B. These mentally handicapped students at Willowbrook State School were wrongfully treated and infected in an effort to protect the children from further harmful infections. The children of Willowbrook were harmed, parents were not given proper information before they provided consent, and the participants were very much deceived. The Society for Research in Child Development has many principles for the standards in research, many of which have been violated by Dr. Saul Krugman and his team during the Willowbrook hepatitis experiments.

Improvements in medical research have a progressive effect on the human, at the same time, ethical concerns need to be considered and respected. Competent and adults are able to make their own decisions independently whether to be part of a research. However, specific groups who are unable to make a decision on whether to participate in a research are the vulnerable population. Specific vulnerable groups are infants, their parents are the ones who will give and informed consent whether to be part of a research or not. As a result, it is essential for the health care staff to be sensitive and aware about parents’ ethical principles and values prior to getting their consents.

Medicaid officials across the country are pushing for the access to the new hepatitis C drugs to be widened by state Medicaid programs because the guidelines are unreasonably strict and these medications can cost up to $1,000 per pill. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, on July 24 of this year. These expenses can cost up to $84,000 for the recommended treatment period of 12 weeks. The hepatitis C drugs can help cure thousands of people with hepatitis C, which is why Federal and State officials are pushing for access to these drugs to be widened.

The experiment conducted on the children was justified in several different ways and appeared to be for the greater good. However, it would never be conducted in our society today because it violated many of the principles in the Belmont Report. Benefiance is one of the first principles that was violated. The well-being of the mentally challenged children was not secure as the researchers were purposely injecting them with the actual hepatitis disease. Due to this, the children were sick and had to endure all the short and long term effects of the disease. As mentioned previously, the disease causes cirrhosis which is something the children would have to live with forever. Justice is the next principle that was violated. These were not fair procedures in the experiment because the children are mentally challenged and unable to make coherent decisions. They were also chosen by the researchers for this study because the disease was already

In 1997, a health little boy named Jonathan was given the hepatitis b vaccine and he got two aneurisms because of it. Jonathan was also diagnosed with the following as well: spastic quadriparetic cerebral palsy with microcephaly, cortical blindness, and marked dysphasia. He had global developmental delay secondary to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy as a result of spontaneous rupture of a left MCA aneurysm. Also has intractable, symptomatic mixed seizure disorder secondary to a rupture of left MCA aneurysm. He appears to have spasms, partial seizures, myoclonic seizures, and generalized tonic seizures. A vaccine is a weakened or dead substance that provides immunity against one or several diseases.

In New York City the Willowbrook State School (1947-1987) was supported for mentally disabled children by the state. The school had too many children with 2,000 or more students more than the school was even suppose to have. Families would give up the children to this lifestyle of poor and unsanitary conditions. Hepatitis A specifically and other hepatitis diseases were very common within this inhumane school. This disease inside the institution of disabled kids brought up outrageous amounts of controversy because of experiments on the children to try and diagnose their infection. Children with parents consent were the only allowed to be inside the specific study. Although many parents would giver the permission for the kids to be infected with the disease just so that they could be enlisted in the institution that didn’t need any

For my hypothetical research, just like so many of my peers, our study includes young children; with that said, there are countless situations can have ethical issues. For my research which is to determine whether foods that include gluten and/or casein can cause gastrointestinal issues with children who have been diagnosed with autism, ethnical issues automatically comes into to play. First thing in question, is how to protect the child who is struggling with gastrointestinal issues from further suffering from this condition if they are being exposed to foods that includes gluten and casein. Second, issue is have to parents agree to have their child included in the research process. Next, there are always HIPPA laws the researcher has to be aware of prior to beginning the research.

Many people notice that Hardee’s employees are poorly trained and handle situation in the wrong way. This can cause many problems for the people who eat there and also the company themselves. A customer wants to be treated right when ordering their food, but they also want to feel safe when eating their food. If an employee were sick, the customer would not want them hacking all over their food. It is not only gross but can cause the consumer of the food to become ill.

(Allegan, MI) - As a result of hepatitis A outbreaks around the state of Michigan, the Allegan County Health Department (ACHD) would like to take this time to remind residents that vaccination is your best defense against hepatitis A.

Although, very few cases of AIDS have been reported, over 8,000 health care workers in the USA contract Hepatitis B from contaminated needles, every year. We want to minimize cuts and sticks from contaminated needles while handling and disposing of contaminated needles. To do this effectively we must concentrate on two areas, container placement and maintenance and the proper procedure to dispose of the needles. The first area of concern is the actual disposal of the contaminated needles. Recapping or bending needles should be avoided. If recapping or bending the needles is essential- for example, between multiple injections for the same patient, please use a mechanical or a one-handed technique, such as a “scoop’ technique, using the needle

Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis A virus. It may cause fever, malaise, anorexia, nausea, and abdominal discomfort, followed within a few days by jaundice the disease ranges in clinical severity from a mild illness lasting 1–2 weeks to a severely disabling disease lasting several months. Good personal hygiene and proper sanitation can help prevent Hepatitis A. Transmission may occur by direct person-to-person contact; or from contaminated water, ice, or shellfish from contaminated water; or from fruits, vegetables, or other foods that are eaten uncooked, but which may become contaminated during handling. Hepatitis A can affect anyone