Infectious Diseases : Disease Control And Prevention

Before, biologists assumed all microbes are bad for the human body (automatically thought of pathogens), caused many diseases and harm our body fundamental systems. In addition, the biologists think that our body is already built which had all the functions required to maintain our health. However, the attitude has changed over the last decade. The biologists characterized the most prevalent species of microbes in the body, and found out that these collective microbes do not threaten us, and they also are important part of human bodies.

Worldwide, infectious diseases kill millions of people each year. In fact, they are the leading killer of children and cause 16% of all global

Chapter 12 caught my attention because it informs you how infections develop into humans and types of agents to stop the infection. Infection and pathogens are created by microorganisms that enter the body. Microorganisms that can cause this are bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. These microorganisms can enter through your nose, mouth or skin so it is recommended to always wash your hands and receive vaccinations. Antibiotics are not as effective like it was back in the days, because microorganisms learned to be resistant to it. There is antibacterial, antiviral and antituberculosis agents to control microorganisms. Antibacterial agents destroys microbes and prevent it from multiplying. Antituberculosis are agents that treat diseases that

Of the 1,415 human pathogens, 61% are zoonotic and infect multiple animal species.4 This means out of the 1,415 pathogens 863 are zoonotic and can be passed to humans from animals. Some of the ways the emergence of pathogens occur are a mutation (canine parvovirus infection), climate change, invasive species, the introduction of a new species (intended or accidental), and biological products.4

When dangerous diseases like Ebola and the Zika virus infect large populations of people and becomes a threat to public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) takes the lead in responding to them. Microbes that fall into the highest level of containment – Biosafety Levels (BSL) three and four – are easily transmissible in the air with little or no treatment available (CDC, “Recognizing Biosafety Levels”). To fight against such threats, the CDC conducts critical research to “track and find what is making people sick and the most effective ways to prevent it” (CDC, “Mission, Role, and Pledge”).

Infectious diseases are caused by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites, and organisms can live inside and outside of human bodies. The CDC along with other government agencies has a decision making process before handling a strategic action plan when dealing with infectious diseases that may start in America or from a foreign place. The planning structure is designed to expose, investigate, and monitor any new or old infectious diseases to protect the public. The decision making process for the Office of Infectious Diseases is a group effort development because of the available research the group needs to make the proper decisions on diseases. How the group decides on a decision is through evidence base research according

Infectious disease were shaped serious health issues in the world until beginning of 20th century, some disease as cholera, plaque were distribute significant proportions of the populations of European cities. (Barreto, Teixieira & Carmo, 2006).

Through found research, there is a vast amount of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms that occur naturally and man-made. These biological agents have the potential to negatively affect the human body, varying from mild reaction, to even death. While each individual organism is wide-spread throughout our globe, they can be traced back to water, soil, plants, and animals. Biological agents should be treated as potential threats due to the rapid reproduction and minimal required resources to sustain life.

Shingles virus which the medical terms use is herpes zoster, which is accompanied by a local rash and pain. Shingles virus usually covers certain areas of the skin encompassing about one to three dermatomes. The dermatome area is supplied by just one single nerve root, shingles is known by blisters superimposed by an aggressive red inflamed base. Shingles virus only occurs on one side of the body, the pain of shingles is very severe and those who have experienced the shingles virus describe shingles as a burning sensation. The area of the body which is affected by shingles virus becomes very sensitive to the touch which is medically known as

Hepatitis B is the most common liver infection in the world. Worldwide, about 350 million people are chronic carriers of HBV (Hepatitis B Virus), among these carriers, more than 620,000 die from liver-related diseases each year. In the United States, hepatitis B mainly affects adults aged between 20-50 years. About 800,000 to 1.4 million Americans are chronic hepatitis B virus carriers, and the disease causes about 3,000 deaths each year. The good news is that infection with HBV is usually preventable because there is an effective vaccine. Use of the vaccine has resulted in an 82% decrease in the number of new infections reported in the United

human cells, most of our body is inhabited by other organisms that range from neutral species to pathogenic dangers. This diverse spectrum of microorganisms is called the human microbiota, and is composed of around 10-100 trillion commensal microbial cells (1). These may include bacteria, fungi, viruses, most of which may be harmless. Microbiota are dispersed throughout our bodies, though seem to be particularly concentrated within certain bodily “ecosystems” such as the gut, the vagina, and the mouth. Interestingly, the diversity between these sites is quite great, with research showing that the microbiome of the hand could be around 80-90% different from that of the gut (1). These separate microbial sites within the body dictate how certain pathogens will be killed off, and how the balance of the site will be maintained. As a site most densely populated with microbiota, the gut is responsible for making sure that the vitamins and minerals within foods were sufficiently absorbed and digested; a feat only possible due to the magnitude of microbial organisms within the site (2). In this sense, each site is extremely important to the overall harmony of the human body. Techniques to identify certain microbial taxa, as well as their genomic patterns range from studies of cultured isolates, which are used to link bacteria to certain phenotypes, to taxonomic profiling, a

The germ theory includes the chain of infection: an infectious agent, a reservoir, mode of transmission, and susceptible host (CDC, 2012; Appendix A). The reservoir is the environment in which the pathogen lives, grows, and multiplies, such as the environment or the patient’s hands. The portal of exit allows the pathogen to leave the reservoir, such as hands contaminated with saliva, feces, blood, or nasal discharge. The portal of entry may include medical devices, such as urinary catheters or intravenous lines, facial touching, or the fecal-oral route. The final link in the chain of infection is a susceptible host, which may include HCPs, patients, visitors, or others. Because breaking one link in the chain of infection breaks the cycle of infection, a significant concept in this theory is HH may break the chain of infection. The novel aspect of this model is the focus on the patients themselves as significant factors in the chain of infection.

Previous work with DNA based technologies to accurately detect and identify human pathogens has been demonstrated. Furthermore, three methods have been utilized: 1) amplification of one or more universal genes (16S rRNA and 23S rRNA) through PCR, 2) amplification of pathogen-specific markers (toxins, virulence factors) using multi-plex PCR and 3) amplification of random DNA fragments (Kim et al., 2008). Kim et al. (2008) state that the first two methods is flawed due to the limited number of probes utilized and that the amplification of universal genes would not discriminate below species level due to the fact that these genes are highly conserved within the genus. On the other hand, Kim et al. (2008) reported that

Regardless of which form of the disease the infected individual has if gone untreated the disease can be fatal.

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.