Question

Essay # 4

An epidemic resulting in serious illness is occurring in Maine. The incidence and prevalence reports indicate a slow start, followed by an exponential increase in disease that may be sustained in the population. How would this epidemic be characterized? How is the disease agent being spread? What controls would be appropriated if the outbreak were caught early on?

Answer 1

Answer - This epidemic will be characterized by its incidence and the prevalence reports with the help of which we can describe its cause and spread and the area or environment which supports the most. It could be a communicable disease which has lead to an exponential increase.

A disease outbreak happens when a disease occurs in greater numbers than expected in a community or region or during a season. An outbreak may occur in one community or even extend to several countries. It can last from days to years.

Sometimes a single case of a contagious disease is considered an outbreak. This may be true if it is an unknown disease, is new to a community, or has been absent from a population for a long time.

If you observe what you think might be a disease outbreak, report it right away to your health care provider or public health department.

        Effective coordination requires a dedicated physical space (usually an emergency operation center); various tools to ensure optimal organization of meetings and filing of documentation (such as a list of contacts, and a meetings tracking system); a joint plan of action regularly updated as the situation evolves, to describe the interventions needed and the distribution of roles and responsibilities among stakeholders; and finally tools to ensure communication between the various stakeholders engaged in the response (phone numbers, a dashboard, maps, and a directory).

Early detection: Emerging and re-emerging diseases include new ones about which there is little scientific knowledge. These, therefore, often require investigation into their sources at the same time as the use of coordinated, rapid-containment measures. New diseases require new interventions. And because they appear irregularly or rarely, there is a need for constant vigilance, proactive risk assessment and the development of new management tools.

Early detection allows the rapid implementation of containment measures, which are the key to reducing the risk of amplification and potential international spread. Early detection begins at the health care setting, so health care workers must be trained to recognize potential epidemic disease, report quickly an unusual event (such as an unusual cluster of cases or deaths). Their role is also to reduce the risk of community transmission by isolating severely-ill patients; to prevent household transmission by protecting health caregivers at home, and to reduce the mortality rate. Health care workers must also know how to protect themselves and employ infection prevention and control measures and how to avoid outbreaks amplified in health care facilities