Disease Faces Changes with the Change of the People's Culture - Research Paper Example

 Introduction Disease that humankind faces changes with the change in the culture. There are certain diseases, which cannot be fully, understand if a cultural explication is not allowed. There are some disease which either posses a cultural root or a cultural catalysts and so the disease cannot be treated without considering the cultural connections. (Kravitz, 2003) Diseases can be of different types depending on the transmission mode, area of distribution and the ‘extent of the severity’. Diseases can be of several types like communicable disease, noncommunicable disease, endemic disease, epidemic disease, and etc. Among these diseases the epidemic disease affects the population of the affected area, as whole Epidemic diseases are those diseases that spread among groups of people rapidly. It causes huge death rate in the affected population. (Types of Disease, n.d.) Cholera is such an epidemic disease that could affect the total population of a particular geographical area. According to WHO (2010), “Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given”. (World Health Organization, 2010) Cholera is mainly transmitted through infected water or food. It causes rapid dehydration and can cause death if not treated properly .The prevention of cholera required a multidisciplinary approach. Proper and rapid diagnostic can help in proper and early detention of the disease. The paper explores the incidence of the disease among the Nicobarese clan. The affected area – In October 2002 the Andaman Nicobar island reports the outbreak of cholera among the Nicobarese clan of the Nancowry community of islands.16 of the 45 villages of the three islands were affected with the attack rate of 12.8 % and it causes the fatality ratio of 1.3%. (Sugunan, Ghosh, Roy, Gupte and Sehgal, 2004). The Andaman and the Nicobar islands consists of 527 islands, reefs rocks in the Bay of Bengal and is one of the seven union territories of India. The total population is about 350,000 as per the census report of 2001 among which 9% are the tribes. The Nicobarese are the largest of all the tribes and they are the inhabitants of the Nicobar district. The Nancowry group of islands, the car nicobar and the great nicobar falls in the district of Nicobar. There is a community Health centre at Kamorta, which is the main town of the Nancowry group of islands, and it is located in the Kamorta Island. Katchal Island has a primary health centre. These two along with many sub centres provide health facilities to the tribes. (Sugunan, Ghosh, Roy, Gupte, and Sehgal, 2004). Source of the disease- The out break of the disease was first recorded on or after 5th Oct 2002 and study of the villages reveal that the out break first occurs from a person who has visited a nearby village where it was occurring. The person was detected with watery diarrhea. Interrogations were made from the Patients admitted in the Community health centre; their relatives and house survey were also conducted in the affected villages to gather information about the sources of their water supply and also about the illness. Samples from different water sources of the village and also seawater were arranged from the neighborhood of the shore. The samples were sending to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Kolkata for further study and conformation. Study suggests that the people moving in between villages had played a role in the spread of the disease. The wells had concrete walls so that it can be used for drinking purpose but there may be the case of mix up of the surrounding shallow water through seepage. But there has been no concrete proof of how the organism spread. A possibility that has been identified is that the organism may have been introduced in the marine environment from the discharge of the ships that passes daily along the shore. The area where the ships enter and remained anchored was in Tapong where the first outbreak appears. Consumption of water from all wells was resulting in the spread of the disease and hence no particular water source was detected as the main source of the infection. (Sugunan, Ghosh, Roy, Gupte, and Sehgal, 2004). Spread of the disease- The number of persons affected by water borne disease increases from 10 people per month to 250 persons per month just before and after October 2002. The first person affected died of the disease. Eight more cases of cholera were reported from 5th Oct to 7th Oct and more 11 by 12th Oct but with the spread of the knowledge of early hospitalization the fatality rate remain low. Among 3806 people residing in the three villages 468 of them were reported and treated in the community health center. One person among eight of the tribes in the three villages was affected by the epidemic. In Some villages almost 82% of the population was also affected with the disease. The disease affects person of all age group but the incidence of the disease was highest among the age group of 15 to 19 and those among 20 to 24 years of age. It also affects mostly women of childbearing age. Among male the attack rate was 11.7% and among female it was 13.8%. The outbreak sustained till the second week of November. In certain villages the outburst again re-emerged and then decreases rapidly .Sea water and the change in the water current was thought as a possible reason for the spread because the direction of the spread of the disease was mainly in the northern direction. The death occurs mainly among the adults. (Sugunan, Ghosh, Roy, Gupte, and Sehgal, 2004). Measures taken to control the spread of the disease- The sources of drinking water in all the three villages of Kamorta, Nancowry and the Trinket islands were all ‘super chlorinated’. Campaigns were undertaken in all the sub centers of the villages for increasing public awareness. The staffs of the sub centers were trained to refer the patients to the Community Health Centre for better treatment. The sub centers were ordered to keep a stock of Intravenous fluids, oral rehydration solution, and essential drugs. Early rehydration for the diarrhea disease patients to be started by the nurses and other clinical helps as instructed. Intravenous fluids were also to be provided to the patients referred to the Community Health centers. The main tools that are necessary for the control of the spread of the disease are that the case management in the cholera treatment centers should be appropriate and well timed. Improvement in access of drinking water, proper sanitation proper waste control mechanism, better hygiene and practices of more safe food are suggested as measures to be taken to prevent the reappearance of the disease. Moreover it was suggested that the communication and the interaction with the public should be improved for increasing awareness among the people. (Sugunan, Ghosh, Roy, Gupte, and Sehgal, 2004). As per the study suggest the environmental circumstances and the geographical location has been a major point in the spread of the disease in these island areas. The villages located near the shore have experienced the maximum and the first cases of outbreak of the disease. Moreover the culture of the people can also be said to be responsible for this epidemic. The tribal people were not that concerned about the hygienic side, which increases rapidity of the spread of the disease. If there had been proper sanitation, proper availability of pure drinking water in those areas then the disease may not have occurred. Conclusion Such experience of epidemics have made the government of the countries more concerned about proper medical and other supports that are to be provided to the public and various requisite measures have been taken by the govt of every nations. Proper vaccination facilities are provided by the govt. ‘Internationally licensed Oral Cholera Vaccine’ is available currently this has been proven to be safe and effective for infants as well as for adults. This vaccine was recently used for public health in recent mass vaccination as suggested by the World Health Organization. Though the epidemics that generally outbreak after any natural calamity in the country cannot be controlled but its spread due to improper sanitation, unhealthy diet and infectious drinking water can be regulated and prevented through proper measures that are to be taken by the initiatives of the government. Moreover restrictions on travel in affected countries to avoid the risk of the spread have proven beneficial. Though data does not show the spread of cholera from infectious food imported from other countries have caused the spread of the disease but countries have the right to stop travelers from carrying perishable or unprocessed food across borders. (World Health Organization, 2007) . . References Kravitz B, (May 2003), “The Culture of Disease or the Dis-ease of Culture in Motherless Brooklyn and Eve's Apple”, The Journal of American Culture. Vol-26, issue 2, pp171-179, Retrieved on 17th Nov 2010 Sugunan, A P Ghosh, A. R Roy S, Gupte, M DAND Subash C. Sehgal (2004), “A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC AMONG THE NICOBARESE TRIBE OF NANCOWRY ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR, INDIA”, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 71(6), pp 822-827, retrieved on 17 Nov 2010 from: http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/full/71/6/822 “Types of disease” (n.d.), Microbiology procedure.com, retrieved on 17 Nov 2010 from World Health Organization (2010) “Cholera”, retrieved on 17 Nov 2010 from:http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/en/. World Health Organization, (Sept 2007) “Prevention and control of cholera outbreaks: WHO policy and recommendations”, retrieved on 17 Nov 2010 from: http://www.emro.who.int/CSR/Media/PDF/cholera_whopolicy.pdf Read More