Talking about infectious diseases, modern people should remember the threat of COVID-19 and the necessity of taking certain precautionary steps. Although the pandemic crisis is not as critical as it was a year ago, neglecting simple preventive steps and protecting personal health will be wrong. COVID-19 is an example of an infectious disease provoked by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Lotfi et al., 2020). The speed of its spread across the globe was high, which challenged millions of healthcare providers, nurses, and scientists. Identifying the most effective control measures, reservoirs, and transmission ways to prevent the disease is important. Awareness of the epidemiology of COVID-19 should be improved to avoid its complications and the possibility of a new pandemic breakout across the globe.
The mechanisms of infectious disease transmission are usually provoked by specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites. COVID-19 has human-to-human transmission routes through coughing and sneezing, resulting in droplets spreading (Lotfi et al., 2020). In addition to these direct means, COVID-19 may be transmitted through indirect contact. The virus has strong characteristics, making it possible to stay on contaminated objects for some time. Thus, if a person touches a SARS-CoV-2-contaminated surface and uses their hands to dry their eyes, nose, or mouth without sufficient washing activities, the chance of getting COVID-19 is high (Lotfi et al., 2020). Despite the desire to protect themselves, people continue wearing masks and other equipment to reduce the possibility of direct contact. However, according to Lotfi et al. (2020), such personal protective equipment also becomes a source of airborne infection transmission. Some individuals who have COVID-19 may be asymptomatic, which complicates management and control procedures.
Within a short period of the pandemic outbreak, healthcare providers and researchers had to find new ways of protection and interventions with control measures. The most common recommendations include isolation, quarantine, restrictions on mass meetings, and social distancing (Ayouni et al., 2021). In addition to personal safety, attention should be paid to occupational health and safe environments. In most organizations, people have to take tests and get vaccinated to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Mask-wearing has become an obligation for all citizens in many countries despite personal concerns and preferences. Schools were closed, and many companies had to consider distant work as the only applicable solution (Ayouni et al., 2021). Delivery services allowed to reduce the number of people on streets who need to buy basic products. Although not all countries and not all people living in the same country were eager to follow these control measures, these steps helped to reduce the number of COVID-19-related cases and death.
The identification of reservoirs of an infectious agent is an important step in epidemiological studies. A reservoir is a source where the virus can be transferred to a host. In the COVID-19 case, the major reservoirs are humans and the environment. Human reservoirs are dangerous because some of them remain asymptomatic carriers of the virus (Lotfi et al., 2020). Not much attention is currently paid to animal reservoirs of COVID-19, while this type is the major cause of the global pandemic in 2019 (Ayouni et al., 2021). A horseshoe bat was a primary source of the disease that was easily transmitted to a human being. With time, the environment has become a serious threat to populations because it was possible to touch a contaminated area and be diagnosed with COVID-19 in several days.
In general, COVID-19 is an infectious disease whose transmission routes, reservoirs, and control measures have to be thoroughly studied to prevent its outbreak in the future. Although most countries have successfully managed severe complications, the threat of this disease cannot be ignored. The environment and asymptomatic patients may still be dangerous, and the task is to gather information and conduct studies for new discoveries and solutions.
References
Ayouni, I., Maatoug, J., Dhouib, W., Zammit, N., Fredj, S. B., Ghammam, R., & Ghannem, H. (2021). Effective public health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 21(1).
Lotfi, M., Hamblin, M. R., & Rezaei, N. (2020). COVID-19: Transmission, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities. Clinica Chimica Acta, 508, 254-266.