The Impact of Cholera in Zambia, Africa Essay examples

1. Models are analogies that allow us to clarify hypotheses—proposed explanation of relationships between. What roles do models play in testing hypotheses?

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).

Some of the measures that the government has encouraged to help curb the problem is boiling of water. This is the cheapest option since the government cannot afford offering iodine tablets and the water filters. The Uganda Red Cross Society has also done its best during every outbreak of cholera like the severe 2006 incidence where more than 300,000 people within the capital city of Kampala were affected directly by the cholera pandemic (Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, 2008). However, this is treatment and not a preventive measure. Even so, this cheapest option

Causes: Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The bacteria releases a toxin that causes increased release of water from cells in the intestines, which produces severe

UNICEF officer, Suzanne Mary Beukes provided a clearer insight to how poor the country of Guinea is when she wrote, "The world has virtually quarantined a country in which 43 percent of people were already living on less than $1.25 a day prior to this health crisis” (Gholipour, 2014). The countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (the countries where outbreaks primarily occurred), are some of the poorest countries in the world as a result of their recent civil war and the damaged health and education infrastructures that followed. (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 10). The poor infrastructures led to the delayed transportation of patients and lab work to labs and hospitals in addition to the lack of communication between health facilities. In addition to the lack of health facilities, there was shortage of healthcare workers. “Prior to the outbreaks, the three countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) had a ratio of only one to two doctors per nearly 100,000 population” (“Factors that Contributed to the Spread of Ebola,” n.d., para. 15). The poverty in these cities and countries lead people to want to move to a better standard of living, be treated for the virus, and look for food &

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

The health of many women in Algeria which is part of Sub-Saharan Africa in 1990 were impacted by the poor health care system because they lived in poverty. Poverty caused these women to lack essential needs to live a quality life. They lacked or could not afford resources such as supplies, health care professionals, and facilities for healthcare, clean water, and waste disposal. This ultimately affected the health of women and their children. For instance, lack of clean water and waste disposal facilities can cause health abnormalities such as cholera or typhoid fever which can cause devastating deaths. This is a healthcare problem because of the lack of funding. The lack of funding prevents antibiotics from being used to prevent death, and prevents African’s from being vaccinated against typhoid fever. Another example of how poverty affects woman’s health is unintended pregnancy, which is because they are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. It's part of the health crisis because it includes a poor health system, and a lack of education about proper nutrition and behaviors during pregnancy. Complications in these pregnancies due to poor nutrition and not visiting the doctor regularly includes increased infant mortality. Infant mortality in the slums of Nairobe is 91.3% while it is 75.9% in urban areas where there is a better developed healthcare system. The inferiority of poor Africans in

Introduction. This model targets the entire rural Haitian population especially those with low immune system and the very young. This model will use preventative care as specialty of care. The setting will be an ambulatory health care center. This model has for goal to strengthen the knowledge of the population with good hygiene and habits to prevent Cholera.

The water source is important because cholera can be transmitted in feces that contain the strain of Vibrio Cholerae. Thus, the water can contaminated. The united nations have established a water quality monitoring system that is implemented in 56 health centers. They have constructed wastewater treatment plants, provided sewage management in internally displaced camps as well as built sanitary facilities in 240 schools. Besides creating proper infrastructure, the united nations have supplied critical items for prevention and treatment of cholera such as water purification tablets, soap and medical supplies and equipment. They have also purchased oral cholera vaccines that were administered to 110,000 people (UN Fact Sheet: Combatting Cholera in Haiti 2013). Even though the United Nations has reduced the risk of cholera for about 1.2 million people, the rest of the population is still suffering with the disease (UN Fact Sheet: Combatting Cholera in Haiti 2013).

Water-borne diseases are caused by the ingestion of water contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites. These pathogens are spread through the feces or urine of an infected individual (africaneeds). The most common diseases are cholera, guinea worm and typhoid. People can easily contract these diseases if there is no system of sewage collection and treatment. In fact, almost 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to adequate sanitation (UN water). Climate change can also impact the water crisis in Africa. Water is necessary for survival, and when areas get

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

And in 2015, the trends have tripled. Cholera is preventable, and treatable but many Haitians do not have the resources against this disease. After a mere five years, 9,041 deaths have been registered and over 750,000 have contracted the disease. The registered deaths do not even account for the Haitians who remained in their homes and died without record. Thousands of Haitians that live in impoverished areas are suffering from this disease, one that can be easily cured in a developed country like the U.S. Cases of cholera have been much more prevalent in the poverty stricken population than the small richer population, since poorer communities or rural villages don’t have access or cannot afford clean water. Despite the flows of donated money to aid with the epidemic, cases are still increasing due to the root problem never being solved -- the unsanitary

Registered practitioners of medicine are obliged by law to tell any suspected or established cholera cases to DH as soon as they discover the case in order to commence investigation and control of the disease. CHP carries out thorough epidemiological investigation control measures are finding the source and tracing the contact. The patients are supposed to be isolated in hospitals for them to receive correct care and extensive histories of the food they ate and where they traveled is known. CHP examines every contact with the household items and shared sanitary facilities and food with any of the patients in the time of the incubation. Travel and food collaterals are interviewed for existing gastrointestinal

These factors were the focus on this study, but further research into the Sierra Leone healthcare system and the impact of NGOs are just two others that could continue to shed light on epidemic. More concrete conclusions could be drawn if more data, especially malnutrition data, was accessible from the pre-Civil War time period. This study did not show that malnutrition and a density packed population caused the Ebola outbreak, but instead demonstrated that the Civil War influenced these factors and how they in turn created a more susceptible environment for the outbreak to occur. This information could be used in a variety of ways with the main goal of preventing this situation from occurring in the future. Understanding the bushmeat industry and why it is used could used to influence a focus on food production. There is a pressing need to stop the eating of bushmeat and for this to occur, the population needs access to affordable food. In addition to malnutrition, an understanding on the impact of population density on the spread of the virus will be vital if another outbreak ever occurs in an urban area. If researchers combine knowledge of factors that contribute to population density increases as well as the impacts of the increased population density on disease, they have the ability to create a bigger

There are other common sources of cholera bacterium are surface or well water, seafood, raw fruits and vegetables, and grains. In water, Vibrio cholerae can survive for long periods of time, staying dormant. People in areas with poor sanitation, like crowded refugee camps, are at risk of cholera, due to the fact that water provided for said community could be a source of contamination of cholera bacteria. Seafood, when raw or undercooked, can be contaminated by cholera bacteria, if the seafood came from certain areas with contaminated waters. Since the 1970s, cholera outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by smuggled seafood from cholera-infected areas, and from the Gulf of Mexico. Shellfish are especially contaminated, due to the fact that “they filter large amounts of water, concentrating the levels of cholera bacteria”. Raw fruits—especially unpeeled—and vegetables coming from an area with a source of cholera are another frequent source of the cholera bacteria. Innoculation of the fruits