Student’s Name:
Vector Related Diseases
Institution:
Vector Related Diseases
Vector-borne infections are diseases caused by pathogens transmitted by insects and have long affected human affairs. Vector-borne infections differ from other diseases in that, one, or sometimes more than one, intermediate host is necessary for the transmission to take place (Wormser, G. P., & Telford, S. R. 2005). These hosts may be insects or aquatic animals. If the intermediate host is an insect, it will acquire disease parasites by biting an infected person or animal and may transmit the parasites to any other person or animal it bites afterwards. If the intermediate host is an aquatic animal, it acquires disease parasites passively from infected water and, after the parasites have completed part of their life cycle within the animal’s body, they are released back into the water. From here, they may penetrate the skin of any new host, man or animal that happens to be in the water (Wormser, G. P., & Telford, S. R. 2005).
Vector-borne transmission can be mechanical or biological. In mechanical transmission, the vector simply carries the parasite in or on its body from one host to another; viruses and bacteria are transmitted mechanically. In biological transmission, the parasite passes through a stage of its life cycle in the host’s body, usually multiplying whilst there; most protozoa and helminthes are transmitted biologically and, with the exception of microfilariae, all multiply within the body of the host (Robbins, R. G., & Durden, L. A. 2007).
Children are at particular risk from a number of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, flies or other insect vectors. Globally, malaria is the most prevalent vector borne disease, with more than 2.4 billion people around the world being at risk of contracting this disease and more than 275 million cases reported every year. Over one million children die of malaria each year.
The overall vectoral capacity of a vector species is influenced by other biological and behavioural characteristics of the arthropod population. The degree of contact the species has with humans or animals is influenced by the host preference, the intrinsic blood-feeding and resting behaviour of the vector, and the population density of the vector, human and animal hosts. Longevity, resting behaviour, flight behaviour, and breeding behaviour of the vector population are important intrinsic factors that are influenced by extrinsic environmental factors, for example; temperature, wind, rainfall and humidity (Takken, W., & Knols, B. G. 2009).
Florida is subtropical. The north and central parts of Florida is humid, and South Florida is tropical savanna. This makes the Florida area more susceptible to outbreaks of vector borne diseases. With the last reported Florida dengue outbreak in 1934, its recent re-emergence in 2009 has health officials worried that with the correct conditions, the virus could come back and more infections reported. Health officials fear that outbreaks like the dengue one are part of a growing trend that could be poised to get worse — that changing climates, urbanization and more travel could mean that vector-borne, once-tropical diseases, such as dengue and West Nile virus are not only here to stay, but are on the move. Dengue is a member of the flavivirus group. Other members of this group include the causative agents of West Nile fever, St. Louis encephalitis, and yellow fever (White, 2004). Dengue is endemic throughout the tropics. Considered the second most important mosquito-transmitted disease after malaria, dengue represents a major public health threat due to its swift spread and potential for complications. Outbreaks usually occur every 6 to 8 months in endemic areas.
Dengue fever is more commonly seen in older children and adults. It is characterized by abrupt onset of high fever lasting 3-7 days, severe frontal headache, pain behind the eyes and muscle, and joint pains (WHO 2009). Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, a blanching rash and sometimes minor bleeding for example, from the nose and gums. The acute symptoms of dengue fever last up to 10 days (Shadan, S. 2004). Some people may experience repeated episodes of fever. Full recovery may be slow and associated with depression and general body weakness. It is not mostly fatal.
The people of Florida were worried as the victims were people who had not travelled outside the state, and the people wanted to know if dengue fever had become endemic in the area. This prompted the need to have a risk assessment of the whole area. Risk assessment provides a systematic approach for characterizing the nature and magnitude of the risks associated with environmental health hazards. These activities, processes, and products have some degree of risk. The ultimate aim of risk assessment is to provide the best possible scientific, social, and practical information concerning the risks, for them to be discussed more and the best decisions made as to what to do about them.
The use of risk assessment as a tool in the decision-making process has become increasingly important over the last two decades as it has become evident that situations cannot be judged simply as either ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’. Risk assessment may not always provide a compelling or definitive outcome and will often be limited by the data available. Risk assessors should appreciate that the community may see risk assessment as an excuse for polluting behaviour.
A preliminary situation-specific risk assessment can be undertaken by choosing to apply environmental health procedures, that are found using risk assessment techniques and can be applied generically to a range of occurences (Takken, W., & Knols, B. G. 2009). Where the level of a hazard exceeds the risk-based environmental health criteria, more detailed situation-specific health risk assessment may be used to determine the nature of action required to address the risks. Actions may range from educating the community to requiring large-scale remediation measures.
In prevention of these diseases, I would suggest strong public health fundamentals at the local, state, and national levels that would include laboratory testing and detection, disease surveillance and epidemiologic investigation which are the bedrock of a general capacity to protect the public from infectious diseases and to save lives during disease outbreaks and other unusual health events. The three fundamental activities create and help sustain a flexible, multi‐purpose public health system that helps reduce endemic diseases and is ready and able to counter new threats.
These priorities would include working with public health personnel and healthcare partners to help sustain and strengthen their public health expertise and practice thereby pushing forward workforce development and health partners training, ensuring that economic issues or other problems that may arise affect core capacities.
The collection and analysis of disease information provides data for action essential information for reducing and controlling disease outbreaks. This infectious disease surveillance data would help to identify areas and populations at increased risk for infection, thereby improving our ability to direct and prioritize public health interventions. This surveillance data is also required to monitor the timeliness, effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of current prevention and control efforts and to identify gaps and new prevention strategies.
One important component of these core activities would be documenting and communicating the effectiveness, value, and impact of core public health activities. These activities will help to modernize infectious disease capacities nationwide, also support ongoing efforts to improve performance of state and local health departments for example, National voluntary accreditation activities, to instill a culture of continuous program improvement across all activities; and to help build staff capacity for monitoring, implementation and evaluation of disease prevention and control programs.
Sample program budget
Modernization of infectious disease capacities nationwide
Collection, analysis and interpretation of disease information
Training of healthcare partners
Epidemiologic investigation
Disease surveillance
Laboratory facility for testing
Public education
SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS
– There’s a local health system that’s already set up
– There are bodies and organizations already in play that could be of great assistance
– The public is aware of the effects and would gladly help WEAKNESSES
– Lots of ground to cover
– A lot of man power needed
OPPORTUNITIES
– Get the public educated on the diseases
– Recruit more people to assist in case of spread of a disease
– In the process, we get to fight other threats THREATS
– The government might not be willing to give full support
– The people might mistake it for a fight against a real threat and go into mass hysteria
References
Dengue: Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. (2009). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Robbins, R. G., & Durden, L. A. (2007). Robert Traub (1916–1996): Additional publications and patronyms. Journal of Vector Ecology J VECT ECOL, 32(2), 159.
Shadan, S. (2004). Unfolding targets for dengue fever. Drug Discovery Today, 9(8), 344.
Takken, W., & Knols, B. G. (2009). Malaria vector control: Current and future strategies. Trends in Parasitology, 25(3), 101-104.
Wormser, G. P., & Telford, S. R. (2005). Biology of Disease Vectors, 2nd Edition Edited by William C. Marquardt Burlington: Elsevier Academic Press, 2005. 785 pp., illustrated. $99.95 (cloth). Clinical Infectious Diseases, 41(11), 1692-1693.