A recent global health issue to affect many different world populations is Ebola.
3 postsRe: Topic 2 DQ 2
A recent global health issue to affect many different world populations is Ebola. It has made news in the last few years due to multiple outbreaks. The Ebolavirus is part of the Filoviridae family and has six different species within its own categories. The most common for current outbreaks and infections is the Zaire strain (CDC n.d.). The incubation period spans from 2 days to 21 days in the susceptible host. It is transmitted via direct contact with infected bodily fluids and items contaminated with those secretions. Fatality rate for those infected is up to 50 percent, but early diagnosis and supportive treatment increases the odds of survival (CDC n.d.).
It is believed that the original host of the Ebolavirus is the fruit bat but can also be traced to other wild animals such as fruit flies, porcupines, and primates. The early signs/symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle aches and pains, headache and sore throat. These symptoms often make it difficulty to distinguish the exact viral infection because many viruses mirror the same symptoms. These initial symptoms are followed by more intense vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver functions, internal and external bleeding, decreased WBC and platelets, and increased liver enzymes. Hosts of the virus can only spread the infection when they have the active symptoms, therefore cannot spread infection during the incubation period. Exact diagnosis is done through several blood tests including the ELISA test, antigen-capture detection test, serum neutralization test, electron microscopy, and virus isolation by cell culture (CDC n.d.)
International monitoring of the Ebolavirus is done by the World Health Organization (WHO), under the United Nations. The WHO is considered to be the guardians of public health and security internationally and they are actively involved in setting up preventative and reactive programs/education. These programs are designed to decrease the possibility of an outbreak in any given population (GCU 2018). The response by WHO to the Ebolavirus outbreaks include supporting local and state health departments in disease detection, tracing the source of the outbreak, laboratory services, controlling the infection spread and instituting safe burial practices to prevent the spread of the virus (CDC n.d.). Preventative services by WHO include education on all levels to prevent outbreaks and attempts to break the chain of infection (CDC n.d.)
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/.
Grand Canyon University (Ed). (2018). Community & public health: The future of health care. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs427vn/community-and-public-health-the-future-of-health-care/v1.1/