Identifying the Problem
Epidemiological diseases have always been the most significant factors influencing the human mortality. However, the life expectancy increased during the 20th century due to the improvements in child survival, which is associated with the decrease in infectious disease mortality, caused by immunization (Immunization and infectious diseases, 2018). Nevertheless, contemporary health care system still faces the challenges related to the epidemiological diseases. This paper aims to analyze the problem of the new invasive pneumococcal infections among children under the age of five years and adults aged 65 years and older. The issue under consideration is of very significant concern since the invasive pneumococcal diseases are among the primary causes of illness and death in the United States.
Discussion of the Problem
Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), or Streptococcus pneumoniae in Latin, is one of the principal causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States (Moore et al., 2015). However, some vaccines are highly effective against the disease. 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), which was introduced in 2000, reduced the morbidity and mortality rates by 64-77% among adults and children (Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) (Streptococcus pneumoniae), 2017). The further introduction of PCV13, which is considered significantly more efficient by many researchers, lowered the rates even more (Harboe et al., 2014; Moore et al., 2015). However, to this day the problem of new invasive pneumococcal disease remains highly critical for the American society since the incidence rates are still high.
Epidemiological Analysis
As it was mentioned in the beginning, this paper focuses on children under the age of five years and adults aged 65 years and older. The rationale of such choice is that those two groups are primarily exposed to new invasive pneumococcal disease among the U.S. population. Children are exposed to IPD due to the weakness of their developing immune system, and also the infection is often hospital-acquired when children stay in such institutions. Adults older than 65 years are usually weakened by the numerous chronic diseases, which they acquire through life, and declining health condition (Tomczyk et al., 2014). Those circumstances provide the foundation for IPD to spread.
Healthy People 2020: Goals and Objectives
Healthy People 2020 is the American national program which aims to improve the current conditions of the diseases rates among the population by implementing numerous policies (Immunization and infectious diseases, 2018). Concerning new invasive pneumococcal infections, the primary objective is to reduce the incidence among the children and adults. The goal is to decrease the rates to 12 cases of laboratory-confirmed IPD per 100 000 children under the age of five years and 31 new cases per 100 000 adults aged 65 years and older (Immunization and infectious diseases, 2018). It is also critical to mention the importance of continuous screening the disease. The most efficient test to confirm the infection is “isolation of S. pneumoniae from a normally sterile body site” (Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) (Streptococcus pneumoniae), 2017).
Discussion of Program Plan
A comprehensive program plan is needed to fight the invasive pneumococcal diseases successfully. First of all, it is essential to implement the use of PCV13 across the United States because that vaccine decreases the morbidity and mortality rates significantly (Moore et al., 2015). The strategy of preventive policy among children under the age of five years should be invented to decrease their exposure to the disease. New methods of screening and testing guidelines should be implemented among kindergartens, schools, hospitals, and nursing homes to reveal IPD on very early stages. That policy would help to decrease the morbidity rate because awareness about invasive pneumococcal infections would significantly reduce the transmission of the disease.
References
Harboe, Z. B., Dalby, T., Weinberger, D. M., Benfield, T., Mølbak, K., Slotved, H. C.,… & Valentiner-Branth, P. (2014). Impact of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in invasive pneumococcal disease incidence and mortality. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 59(8), 1066-1073.
Immunization and infectious diseases. (2018). Web.
Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) (Streptococcus pneumoniae) 2017 Case Definition. (2017). Web.
Moore, M. R., Link-Gelles, R., Schaffner, W., Lynfield, R., Lexau, C., Bennett, N. M.,… & Miller, L. (2015). Effect of use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children on invasive pneumococcal disease in children and adults in the USA: analysis of multisite, population-based surveillance. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 15(3), 301-309.
Tomczyk, S., Bennett, N. M., Stoecker, C., Gierke, R., Moore, M. R., Whitney, C. G.,… & Pilishvili, T. (2014). Use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine among adults aged≥ 65 years: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63(37), 822-825.