Reasons of a Sudden Outbreak of New Disease
Week 4 Assignment
Based on your understanding of the SARS case study, answer the following questions:
- In your opinion, what could be the possible reasons of a sudden outbreak of new disease?
- What are the ways of addressing a new and virulent contagious disease?
- Discuss in detail about the countries, which have faced epidemics in the past. What would have been the possible reasons for such outbreaks?
Use the following resources as well as other outside resources for this assignment.
- Cheng, F. W. T., Ng, P. C., Chiu, W. K., Chu, W. C. W., Li, A. M., Lo, K. L., . . . Fok, T. F. (2005). A case-control study of SARS versus community acquired pneumonia. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(7), 747-749. doi:10.1136/adc.2004.063446
- McLean, A., & Royal Society (Great Britain). (2005;2006;). SARS: A case study in emerging infections. Oxford;New York;: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568193.001.0001
Support your responses with examples in a 2-4 page APA formatted Word Document. Include an introduction and conclusion. Cite any sources in APA format.
Sample Answer
Based on your understanding of the SARS case study, answer the following questions:
In your opinion, what could be the possible reasons for a sudden outbreak of a new disease?
In the past five years, the World Health Organization has declared the emergence of three global health pandemics. These outbreaks have been rising in different states globally, including the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the Zika outbreak in the Americas, and COVID 19 in China. According to various researchers, most pathogens that have led to these deadly outbreaks are not new. For instance, health analysts have been aware of Zika since the 1940s, Ebola since the 1970s, and COVID 19 since 2003. Moreover, they have discovered that some of the viruses have evolved with humans over the decades. Compared to the past decade, the spread of viruses, bacteria, and fungi has been fast and effective recently. When the viruses rise unexpectedly, health practitioners, health systems, and human’s immune systems are caught unaware hence deadly if the spread is not prevented instantly. The following are factors that lead to a sudden outbreak of a pandemic:
- An increase in the rate of traveling, trading, and connectivity around the globe
Before the rise of technology, people lived in small and separate bands that relatively isolated each other. Recently there has been extensive contact between people from different countries and different age groups. People traveling and transporting goods from one country to another through sailing and airplane has led to the spread of deadly viruses globally through animals and seafood. People are usually susceptible to a new disease as their immune system has never handled the new pathogen.
- Urbanization
Recently, people have moved from rural areas to urban areas, which has led to overpopulation in urban environments. This trend has been named “emerging humanitarian disaster,” which takes place in every country on the planet. These overcrowded cities in the world are some of the most unhygienic areas where people live. Overcrowding in these places has made it easier to spread disease outbreaks. For instance, COVID 19 is widely spread in Wuhan in China, with 11 million people (Mattioli, Sciomer, Cocchi, Maffei, and Gallina, 2020). The virus then spread to Indian, which is one of the most populated countries in the world.
- High rate of poverty
When a new virus attacks an impoverished country or population, the citizens are at high risk of dying. For example, during the Ebola epidemic, every America infected with the disease survived, whereas in West Africa, almost 11,000 people the epidemic. Americans were well equipped with quality health systems and services that helped them deal with the pandemic. This was not the case in West Africa; even with all their health practitioners’ skills, it was challenging to stop the pandemic from spreading due to a lack of adequate and quality healthcare facilities.
What are the Ways of Addressing a New and Virulent Contagious Disease?
The most compelling way of addressing a new contagious disease is the World Health Organization reporting and being open about cases of any potential global spread of the epidemic. Trying to cover the cases of the virus with fear of social and economic impacts is considered a short-term option that places most people at a death risk (Chakraborty and Maity, 2020). During the COVID 19 pandemic, every country was asked to report cases transparently and submit their report to WHO for guidelines to prevent the spread.
Secondly, WHO can use timely global alerts to create awareness and vigilance levels which help in preventing emerging cases and transmitting infections. This allows everyone around the globe to be aware of areas and states infected with severe SARS outbreaks like for the COVID 19 it was mainly in China and India. Creating a worldwide awareness provides information on the speed at which developing countries should advance their health services and facilities, preparing them in case the virus spreads to their region.
Finally, having travel recommendations like diagnosis tests at the airport effectively prevented the global spread of an emerging pandemic. According to the data collected on the spread of SARS, it was clear that 22 cases were from a flight in China. After recommending airport diagnosis, no cases were linked to in-flight exposure, and any cases identified were hospitalized immediately. Moreover, airport screening restricted the movements from one place to another hence preventing the virus from spreading.
