Literature Review – Infectious Diseases
Sidney Nikole McCurryThe idea of infectious diseases has become ever-present in recent years, capturing headlines with phrases like “highly contagious” and “danger to all.” People have an increased knowledge that they, in fact, do not have the knowledge necessary to fight the spread of infectious diseases. The term itself – “infectious disease” – ignites fear in most people, simply because of the reputation that has developed because of diseases like pandemic influenza or SARS, hitting the cover of Time Magazine [1]. Is the textbook definition of infectious diseases enough to frighten the public into demanding a solution for the spread of infectious diseases? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines infectious disease as “a disease caused by the entrance into the body of organics which grow and multiply there.” For most people, this definition, in all honesty, means very little. In order for people outside of the realm of public health to understand how dangerous infectious diseases truly are, there must be real-life context.
Take for example, the case of Mary Mallon, otherwise known as “Typhoid Mary.” Mallon is a woman from the 1900s who has been portrayed as the villain who knowingly infected hundreds of people in New York City with typhoid, “an infectious bacterial fever with an eruption of red spots on the chest and abdomen and severe intestinal irritation.” In 1906, public health officials were able to link her with several outbreaks of typhoid and had her forcibly held on North Brother Island. Eventually other people were found responsible for knowingly spreading typhoid through the city, Mallon was the only person detained in this time period[2]. While there were several political and social factors weighing in on the case of “Typhoid Mary,” Mary Mallon’s tale of infection is a perfect representation of the problem with the study of infectious diseases. During Mallon’s time, technology was nowhere near the caliber that it is now, yet public health officials were still able to track the spread of the disease to her. Here we are, over a hundred years later, still searching for an explanation and solution to the spread of infectious diseases.
Furthermore, when discussing the background of infectious diseases, we must acknowledge the difference between emerging infectious diseases and re-emerging infectious diseases. As explained by David Mores, newly emerging diseases are defined as “diseases that are recognized in the human host for the first time,” while reemerging diseases are defined as “diseases that historically have infected humans, but continue to reappear in new forms.” In context of a modern world, the emergence of HIV/aids is an example of a newly emerging disease, while the West Nile virus is an example of a reemerging disease (Mores). Both pose an equally dangerous threat to the human population
Stephen S. Morse, the author of “Global Infectious Disease Surveillance and Health Intelligence,” say the biggest problem with infectious diseases is not that they are dangerous, growing, and spreading, but rather that there is a lack of communal surveillance and health intelligence. Infectious diseases are commonly very contagious and very effective at spreading, causing the lack of global surveillance to be a major component in the problems facing the study of infectious diseases. Rather than being united against the spread of infectious diseases, the world is divided. Morse believes that if the world were united against the spread of infectious diseases, researchers and professionals may be more likely to find an efficient solution to the spread of infectious diseases.
The division around the globe regarding the spread of infectious diseases causes there to be many proposed solutions to the spread of infectious diseases. While some professionals are calling for more traditional approaches to the study of infectious diseases, like Morse with his idea of universal health intelligence, some researches are calling for more non-traditional approaches. One approach calls for the study of animals to be included in the study of the spread of infectious diseases, as, according to Aysha Akhtar, three-fourths of the 175 human pathogens that have been defined as infectious diseases have come from animals. A case regarding Ebola, an infectious disease of the genus Ebolavirus, began with the study of behavior of free-living chimpanzees shows how necessary animal studies are in the spread of infectious diseases. In this particular study, a research worker began to show signs of sickness after dissecting a monkey that had died from what they discovered to be hemorrhaging and non-clotting blood. The clinical course followed the research workers healthcare and illness for fifteen days, at the end of which she was discharged from the hospital, but not without severe complications prior to her being discharged. Combined with the casework and known medicine, researchers were able to diagnose and isolate a novel strain of the Ebola virus. There are certain risks associated with using animal testing in the study of infectious diseases; however, there is clearly a necessity for these case studies in order to fully understand the spread of infectious diseases.[3]
A less experimental approach to the spread of infectious diseases is found in the study of the role of media in the spread of infectious diseases. We live in a time where social media is everywhere and there is no way to control what’s being said and who is seeing it. The public may not realize that they are being fed salacious lies rather than honorable truth regarding infectious diseases.
With the danger of infectious diseases infecting people all across the globe, as with the Ebola case, people are drawn to know where such danger is emitting from. “Hotzones” is a term that refers to any place that has been contaminated by biological, nuclear, or chemical contamination. A major problem in the field of infectious diseases is that people do not realize they are travelling to places that have been deemed “hotzones.” Hotzones are commonly tropical getaways, a hub for tourism and travel. The reality of the problem is that travel is necessary and completely common – virtually any travel destination can now be reached in 36 hours or less. [4]As humans become more globally versed, there are more and more opportunities for infectious diseases to spread across the globe, as was the case with malaria. As presented in “Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases,” live mosquitoes were tracked in 12 out of 67 airplanes that arrived in London. These mosquitoes were being transported out of Africa on passenger and cargo planes and in turn began transmitting the West Nile virus globally.
With advancements in technology and continued growth in the understanding of what needs to be done in the field of the study of infectious diseases, future years should offer insight into how to more properly hand the outbreak of infectious diseases. Until then, the race will continue. The question is, will the diseases win, or will the humans?
[1] Morse, S. S. “Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence.” Health Affairs(2007): 1069-077. Print.
[2] Cantor, Abi. “Typhoid Mary Painted in a Different Light.” The Lancet Infectious Diseases: 926. Print.
[3] “Chapter 9 – Ebola Virus Disease.” Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Case Studies. London: Academic, 2014. Print.
[4] Dutta, Jamini Kanta, Subhash Chandra Pariia, and Tarun Kumar Dutta. Emerging And Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Works Cited
Akhtar, Aysha. “The Need to Include Animal Protection in Public Health Policies.” Journal of Public Health Policy (2013): 549-59. Print.
Cantor, Abi. “Typhoid Mary Painted in a Different Light.” The Lancet Infectious Diseases: 926. Print.
“Chapter 9 – Ebola Virus Disease.” Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Case Studies. London: Academic, 2014. Print.
Dutta, Jamini Kanta, Subhash Chandra Pariia, and Tarun Kumar Dutta. Emerging And Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Macpherson, Cheryl Cox. “Climate Change Matters.” Journal of Medical Ethics 40.4 (2014): 288-90. Print.
Mayor, E., V. Eicher, A. Bangerter, I. Gilles, A. Clemence, and E. G. T. Green. “Dynamic Social Representations of the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Shifting Patterns of Sense-making and Blame.” Public Understanding of Science (2013): 1011-024. Print.
Morens, David M., Anthony S. Fauci, and Joseph Heitman. “Emerging Infectious Diseases: Threats to Human Health and Global Stability.” PLoS Pathogens (2013). Print.
Morse, S. S. “Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence.” Health Affairs(2007): 1069-077. Print.
Senba, M., N. Mori, and A. Wada. “Outbreak Control for Emerging, and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Challenge to Threat of Invisible Transmission.” Management Science Theory and Applications (2010): 197-230. Print.
[1] Morse, S. S. “Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence.” Health Affairs(2007): 1069-077. Print.
[2] Cantor, Abi. “Typhoid Mary Painted in a Different Light.” The Lancet Infectious Diseases: 926. Print.
[3] “Chapter 9 – Ebola Virus Disease.” Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Case Studies. London: Academic, 2014. Print.
[4] Dutta, Jamini Kanta, Subhash Chandra Pariia, and Tarun Kumar Dutta. Emerging And Re-emerging Infectious Diseases. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Sept. 2014.