The Health Issues That Are Still Affecting India Today

Unsafe water supplies are often contaminated with infectious agents, toxic chemicals, and radiological hazards. In 2000, the World Health Organization and UNICEF identified some 2.4 billion people who did not have basic sanitation facilities, and 1.1 billion people without a safe drinking water supply. (Wagner, 2009) Some communities experienced diarrhea, caused by a variety of parasites, viruses, and bacteria that infect people as a result of contaminated drinking water or poor hygiene. In India, more than 500,000 children die from diarrhea every year. Like other tropical diseases, when diarrhea does not kill, it weakens, leaving people more susceptible to other infections, such as tuberculosis and HIV. (Whitman, 2008).

India and Australia are two distinct countries with entirely different extremes if the health care system is taken into account . Health is based on different social determinants - social gradient , early life , education & employment opportunities , social exclusion & isolation , education , culture & ethnicity , transport , food & disposable income.

A problem that affects the daily life of more than a hundred million people is inadequate sanitation and a lack of proper sanitation facilities. For example, only 87% of Indians in urban areas have access to a sanitized latrine, while only 33% of Indians in rural areas have access to a toilet, (The Guardian). This statistic is alarming, as it increases the susceptibility to diseases such as

The Journal of Global Health Perspectives is an online open-access research journal. In addition to publishing primary research they also publish articles that relate meaningful experiences, observations and reflections from members of the global health community. To publish an article in the journal the article had to be E mailed to them along with a signed copyright policy and indicate the category of the work. Current topics of interest are Child health inequality, Maternal health in India, Ebola eradication.

Cholera is a small intestine infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholera (Finkelstein, 1996). It affects 3 to 5 million people worldwide, and as of 2010 causes 58,000 to 130,000 deaths a year (Lozano et al., 2012). Water filtering and chlorination have removed the threat of cholera in Europe and North America, however, it still affects some developing countries, like Haiti. The department of Grand’Anse in Haiti has been experiencing a cholera epidemic since October 2010; the worst one in recent history (CDC, 2016). Grand’Anse never had a cholera outbreak in recorded history until after the 2010 earthquake (BBC News, 2010). The earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010, and the outbreak began in October 2010. Waste from the outhouses used

Chao, D. L., Halloran, M. E., & Longini, I. M. (2011). Vaccination strategies for epidemic cholera in Haiti with implications for the developing world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(17), 7081–7085. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1102149108

Almost 100 countries worldwide are still affected by cholera and it’s virtually impossible to completely prevent an outbreak. If left alone, this rapidly infectious disease can cause many fatalities. However, improved methods for surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment, paired with higher standards of sanitation and personal

The term “Vulnerable Population” is defined as, populations or groups whose needs are not fully addressed by traditional service providers. These populations of people feel they cannot comfortably or safely access and use the standard resources offered in disaster preparedness, relief and recovery. According to statistics of vulnerable populations, American Indians are part of the vulnerable populations of the United States. This vulnerable population has had to face irreversible damages all their lives. Based on treaties, laws, presidential executive orders and numerous court decisions, the United States established federally governmental relationships with the American Indian and Alaskan Tribes through the Cherokee Nation V. Georgia

Cholera has re-emerged as a major infectious disease in the recent past with a global increase in its incidence. In 1994, cholera cases were notified from 94 countries-the highest ever number of countries in one year (WHO, 1995). Two disturbing aspects of global cholera picture in 1990s have been-dramatic and unexpected reappearance of epidemic cholera caused by V.cholerae 01 E1T or in Latin America after 100 years absence from the region and unexpected appearance in 1992 in South India of an epidemic strain of Vibrio cholera non-01, classified as V.cholerae 0139 Bengal. It indicates that cases have increased in all the continents in the last few years; due to change in environments which has created conducive atmosphere for the spread of cholera. Cholera is international notifiable disease and its occurrence is regularly reported to WHO. Trade embargo or restrictions are imposed on countries that report cholera. WHO had never documented any outbreak resulting from commodities imported from cholera endemic areas. Cholera outbreak in Haiti reported 60240 cases and 1415 deaths upto 20th November 2010. Cholera is a water-born acute diarrhoeas disease caused by bacilli V.cholerae. The severity of the disease vary from symptom less to severe infections, majority of the cases are mild or asymptomatic. Cholera is endemic in all the countries except Korea, where cholera has not been officially reported since 1968. 7th endemic is still continuing to spread involving 92

Health problems in the developing countries like India take on enormous proportions because of lack health education and preventive medicine. Growing up in India surrounded by poor sanitation, lack of hygiene and clean drinking water and scarcity of primary health services, I began to realize the necessity of public health care. Furthermore it saddens to think that in South Asia there is much superstition and age old practices that resist the spread of modern medicine. It perplexes me that even as we live in information age, there is a huge gap in the knowledge and understanding of basic health preventive measures in the rural areas of developing countries in Africa and Asia. I am concerned about health literacy, and also aspire to serve the society in a bigger way in India where the needs of public health is immense and daunting.

Cholera is a waterborne diarrheal disease that can be severely detrimental to a person’s health if not treated properly. According to the World Health Organization, cholera is a bacterial disease that originated in India in the 19th century, with seven pandemics spreading around the globe and killing millions of people.1 The current pandemic is still around, and cholera in present times is estimated to affect anywhere from 1.4 to 4.3 million children and adults every year.1 The disease is especially rampant during the rainy season, when the climate is wet and the bacteria spread easily.2 The bacteria strain Vibrio cholerae can culture itself in water, thus contaminating it and making the water dangerous to anyone who

There is a need for more research on South Asian health. With an increasing number of South Asians (i.e., those who come from countries such as India and Bangladesh) in the US, there is a need to address the lack of health of South Asians. South Asians are more prone to cardiovascular disease and cancer, which also marks the importance of conducting research. The South Asian Health Initiative, led by Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities (IHCD) and South Asian Council for Social Services (SACCS), and the Palo Alto Medical Foundational Research Institute (PAMFRI) worked together to form a South Asian research initiative called the South Asian Health: From Research to Practice and Policy. The research and community meetings conducted for the South Asian Health: From Research to Practice and Policy demonstrated that a hefty amount of research needs to be completed in order to provide the best strategies in tackling the health disparities that South Asians face in the US. For example, data are lacking on South Asian

In the recent years, there are prevailing epidemic called Cholera in third world countries such as Haiti, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. It is estimated that 2.8 million cases and 91,000 deaths annually due to cholera in endemic countries. Nearly, 11 million cholera cases occur in 2002 alone. The endemic countries is usually a developing countries, which is at risk because they are lacking access to safe water and sanitation facilities. The effected populations were mainly consisted of low income resident and mostly live in the suburban area, where clean drinking water is not widely available.

Diseases affect every individual. They could have a disease themselves, may know someone or of someone that has one, or the country where they live could have have faced a disease epidemic. Epidemics, which we have studied in our course, analyze how diseases spread and how outbreaks affect countless individuals in countless different countries. This topic relates directly to course material as it encompasses many of the situations and ideas that have been discussed such as, poverty, dying, environment, and social factors and how they relate and coincide with disease. The country you reside in ultimately dictates the technological advances that you have access to when dealing with stopping the spread of diseases. Epidemics also can be considered by looking at poverty because non-industrialized countries have a harder time when it comes to dealing with the spread of disease as they do not possess the tools that are used to prevent spreading. We have studied how the overall development of the country where you live can play a very important role in the assistance you receive as well as the level of care. Thus, the next five articles consider how diseases are handled and dealt with depending on the location of the country and whether or not it is an industrialized or non-industrialized.

The country of India is second in terms of population size and the major cities are becoming overcrowded. Poverty rates in India have increased over the last few years and despite the economic boom the country is experiencing, the people are still living in overcrowded ghettos or slums. Overcrowding and population has brought healthcare challenges. In India, maternal and child mortality are still high, malnutrition among children and pregnant women increase yearly, and the country leads the numbers of Tuberculosis (TB) infection. Furthermore, India’s HIV problem has increased and now is third among 195 countries. The lack of basic healthcare, support and supplies from Indian official has only fueled the healthcare challenges it faces.