Week 4 Discussion-Epi - Essay Example

Week 4- Cluster or Outbreak Order No. 308534 No. of pages: 2 6530 The Medical fraternity is facing the problem of dealing with the increase in the number of tuberculosis and West Nile Virus cases and doctors and other health officials are looking towards health care which is community based because it is one of the most cost – effective methods of dealing with these diseases. There are several causes for the prevalence of tuberculosis such as the presence of ‘AIDS, poor medical infrastructure, poor sanitation in certain areas and a lack of awareness of the dangers leading to the disease.

’ Kampala Henry Wasswa, (2006) Joseph Imoka, the World Health Organization’s tuberculosis coordinator in the country’s health ministry, said, “TB will attack HIV/AIDS patients who already have low resistance.” Kampala Henry Wasswa, (2006)About 12 cases of tuberculosis was reported in October 2007 in a place called Yellowknife and the TB team in Yellowknife are treating them carefully in addition to spreading awareness among the people who are potentially exposed to it. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis attack not only the lungs, but also other parts of the body.

The primary causes of contacting this disease is poor nutrition and over- exposure to smoke and over-crowding. The at- risk group involves the Aboriginal population (Alix McNaught, 2008) and people who live in crowded slums and other places.The conventional methods of detecting outbreaks of diseases such as surveillance of any notifiable disease that is clinician based or laboratory based are less sensitive and timely, leading to poor outcomes and delayed treatment of diseases and therefore a system has been put in place for early detection of outbreaks.

In the case of the West Nile Virus, (WNV) cases have been reported to have been imported from countries like Nicaragua etc. The WNV is an arbovirus that belonged to the family of Flaviviridae and generally transmitted among avian hosts and mosquito vectors especially the Culex. Humans and horses are accidental secondary hosts. (Kramer LD, Li J, Shi PY., 2007) Migrating birds are considered responsible for the outbreaks of WNV to places such as Asia, middle East, Americas, Africa, Europe, France, Israel and Egypt.

Considering the above two cases, the tuberculosis disease could only be an outbreak because of the occurrence of stray cases in certain areas. To be called a cluster, a larger number of cases are needed to have been reported. Whereas, in the case of the WNV virus, the virus is easily spread through migratory birds and mosquitoes to high risk areas and is therefore more widespread. Since the transmission is on a much greater scale, clusters are formed because it is so widespread. Therefore, clinicians should be clearly aware of the symptoms of each disease and the possibility of how it is spread in high-risk areas.

ReferencesAlix McNaught, (2008) No new Tuberculosis cases. Northern News Services.www.nnsl.com/northern-news-services/stories/./apr2_08tb.htmlImportation of West Nile Virus Infection from Nicaragua…www.cdc.gov/EID/content/14/7/1171.htmKampala Henry Wasswa, (2006) Uganda Sees a Rise of 12% in TB Cases. BMJ 2006;332:872 (15 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7546.872-dwww.bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/332/7546/872-d?rssKramer LD, Li J, Shi PY. West Nile virus. Lancet Neurol. 2007;6:171–81.

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