Research and present on the local, state, national, and global trends such as incidence, prevalence, and populations at risk for their communicable disease group.
Good health and well-being are among the SDG goals aimed at transforming the world by the year 2030 (World Health Organization, 2015). The progress towards the achievement of such goals can be tracked using the reports from WHO, CDC, and more; still, the well-being on the global scale is constituted by each individual case in each city, town, and rural community.
The monthly report on epidemic diseases in Miami-Dade County, FL, focuses on communicable diseases in all ages of the population. As a result of the local medical community’s vigorous activity to tackle the influenza issue, the rates of ED visits attributed to influenza and influenza-like illnesses have been kept under control: the rate was fixed at the percentage of 2.2-2.3 during the 2013-2016 period (Thomas & Moore, 2016). Other points of concern include STDs such as Chlamydia (1101 cases in May 2016), Gonorrhea (284), HIV (129), and AIDS (49) (Thomas & Moore, 2016, p. 7).
As indicated by the 2015 CDC report, the nation-scale communicable morbidity rates are contradictory to what occurs specifically in Miami-Dade and Florida. The Lyme disease and Pertussis are the points of concern, with 11.62 and 9.12 new cases per 100,000 population. The rates of tuberculosis, meningococci, and hepatitis (A and B) have decreased since 2003 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015).
Globally, the mortality rates due to communicable diseases have decreased from 12.1 million in 2000 to 9.5 million in 2012 (World Health Organization, 2015). The decline is specifically positive for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. Still, the population of Africa continues to be the most vulnerable to all of the abovementioned diseases, as well as South-East Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with low-SES individuals under the highest risk.
Investigate and present communicable diseases of interest in your local community.
The report on the incidence of communicable diseases in Miami-Dade County indicates that the rates of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) are kept leveraged. The graphs depicting data on the incidence of ILI in all emergency department visitations in 2013-2016 demonstrate a similar pattern of sharp increase during the winter months and a dramatic drop in the warm season (Thomas & Moore, 2016). At that, the rates of ILIs do not go higher than 2.3%.
HIV instances in Miami-Dade rose from 563 cases in 2015 to 706 in 2016, with 129 cases in May only (Thomas & More, 2016). For gonorrhea, the number of cases climbed from 715 last year to 1168 the current year, with 284 occurrences in May. There were 3983 cases of chlamydia in 2015; by May 2016, the number was 5166. The same tendency is visible for syphilis, the occurrences of which increased from 125 to 192 by 2016 (Thomas & Moore, 2016).
Other diseases do not present such concerns mainly because of the low incidence and the even prevalence in the Miami-Dade community. Salmonellosis, for instance, has been kept within the limit of 190 during the 2014-2016 period. The occurrences of shigellosis reduced drastically from 435 in 2014 to 45 and 30 in 2015 and 2016, with only 2 cases in May. Diseases preventable by immunization demonstrate zero occurrence, except for 4 cases of mumps in 2015 and 2016, and 12 cases of pertussis in 2014, which fell to 10 cases in 2016. The instances of varicella, however, have almost doubled since 2015, which is alarming (Thomas & Moore, 2015).
On the whole, there is an alarming increase in STDs in Miami-Dade; the ILI and immunization-preventable diseases are under control.
Research the different types of organisms that could be used to create an epidemic as a result of bioterrorist activity, such as smallpox, anthrax, or botulism. Use the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Website to find out about organisms and their transmission routes, signs and symptoms, prevalence and incidence, and primary prevention treatment. Present your findings and discuss the differences in impact on the health care community and the population, and the role of the community health nurse.
Anthrax is a disease caused by bacillus anthracis and can infect people contacting with contaminated foods (Anthrax, n.d.). All types of anthrax can kill if not treated. The types vary depending on how a person has gotten infected; the most common, however, include fever, sore throat, swellings and skin sores, fatigue, bodily and gastrointestinal aches. Anthrax can be used as a weapon of bioterrorism because the spores both occur in nature and can be generated in vitro (Anthrax, n.d.).
Smallpox is caused by variola virus and cannot be cured; the most effective preventive measures so far consist in vaccination. The symptoms typically include fever, headaches, body aches, nausea, and a rash emerging in the early and most contagious stages (Smallpox Disease Overview, n.d.). The disease is not fatal, although permanent scars are left. That smallpox can be used as a bioterrorist weapon is a serious concern, although no such cases are known. The preparation for the threat include development and creation of vaccines.
Clostridium botulinum is the bacteria to cause botulism, a disease that paralyses muscle. The paralysis is evident within 36 hours from eating contaminated foods: it starts with blurred vision and difficulty speaking and swallowing, then moves down affecting the limbs (Facts about Botulism, n.d.). The toxin can be disseminated in food, which is thy the threat is tangible.
Anthrax seems to be the most threatening as opposed to the other two since it has already been used in terrorist attacks and there is no guarantee that no other attacks are carried out. The role of a nurse is to educate the patients about the potential threat, their actions in case an attack occurs, and the ways to determine the symptoms as fast as possible.
References
Anthrax. (n.d.).
Facts about Botulism (n.d.). Web.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2015). Health, United States, 2015: With Special Feature on Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Web.
Smallpox Disease Overview (n.d.). Web.
Thomas, L., & Moore, E. (2016). Miami-Dade County Monthly Report. Epi Monthly Report, 17(6), 1-7.
World Health Organization. (2015). Chapter 5: Infectious Diseases. In Health in 2015: from MDGs to SDGs (pp. 99-130). Web.