Epidemiology in Public and Global Health (Research Paper Sample)

An outbreak of infectious H1NI influenza in Canada
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Following the frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases, the health care sector has begun to recognize the need to develop proper planning to aid in controlling the consequences of any disease outbreak. Timely, reliable, and understandable pieces of information are all critical components that help in making decisions about the best strategies to use in combating the outbreaks. This script, therefore, discusses a recent outbreak of H1N1 in Canada between the year 2009 and 2010, the susceptibility of persons, factors that might have led to the cause, and significance of the epidemiology based on the article by Jardine, Boerner, Boyd, and Driedger 2015.
Summary
For centuries, man has been plagued with many infectious diseases such as "The Black Death", "Spanish Flu", and the most recent Ebola. The diseases have caused the death of millions of people. Jardine et al (2015) appreciate that governments in collaboration with health care experts have made noticeable efforts to minimize the impacts of such communicable diseases in times of outbreaks. Research centers have focused on the development of antibiotics and vaccines as a line of preparedness for any outbreak. Such preparations have been initiated following the expression of concern from the public and the health care organizations.
The influenza pandemic in Canada broke out in 2009, but that was after cases of the outbreak had been recorded in Veracruz, Mexico. The virus was described to be a new strain of H1N1 which was a product of the combination of bird, human, and the swine virus common in pig populations. Unlike the other different strains of influenza, the H1N1 virus was a strange pandemic because it did not unfairly infect only the adults above 60 years old. The continuous ravage of the influenza type A during that time made the World Health Organization in line with the CDC to declare the H1N1 influenza outbreak a pandemic. CDC clarified that a person did not contract H1N1 influenza by eating pork as its famous name "Swine flu" could suggest. The transmission of the disease was through respiratory droplets from an infected person. Serious symptoms of infection occurred between 4 - 6 days after coming into contact with the virus (CDC, 2010). The virus is transmitted through contact and the easy spread from one person to another can start right from the first day of infection even before its symptoms are expressed. Coughing and sneezing releases the viral material into the air and when breathed in by other people, the infection occurs. Apart from being suspended in the air, the virus could rest on door knobs, buttons of an ATM, public vehicle seats, and several other shared facilities.
Risk Factors for H1N1 influenza
Most flu viruses had for a long time frequently attacked older people, but the when the H1N1 virus first emerged, its prevalence in young adults remained a mystery. It was later deduced that the risk factor for contracting the virus is flat provided one spends time in areas with a large number of individuals infected with the flu. However, the seriousness of the illness has a degree of variation among different groups of people such as being a female especially a pregnant one, being 65 years-old and above, being a child under 5, young adults that have been under aspirin therapy for a long time, immune deficiency (for instance due to AIDS), and the presence of chronic health complications such as diabetes, obesity, and asthma (CDC, 2010).
To contain the H1N1 virus, the World Health Organization began to trace suspects who could likely cause further spread the virus. The environment played a critical role in the spread of the virus because of the highly mobile global population through air travels. People who were treated as suspects included but not least to any person with fever i.e. >38oC, cough or breathing difficulties, has had a close contact with a probable case of H1N1, has a travel history to areas that where cases had recently been recorded, and one who resides in a place where infections had been reported. Being in an environment where the epidemic had been reported increased the possibility of contracting the virus since the virus could be deposited in train seats, airplane seats, public office doors, hospital facilities and many other shared gadgets (Wynn & Williams, 2010).
Significance of the H1N1 Epidemiology
The work of the epidemiologists helped to contain the spread of H1N1 especially across the world if not just Canada alone. The epidemiological investigations provided the demographic information that consequently pointed out the sections of the population that were at the peak of risk. It was through their research that it was realized that the spread of the virus was not directly fueled by contacts with pigs or eating pork. It was explained that contact with the flu patients, contaminated objects in the surrounding and breathing in suspended viral germs led to the spread of the disease. The revelation on how the virus was transmitted led to countries limiting the movement of people in and out of their nations since H1N1 had been declared a global concern by the WHO. Epidemiologists also provided directions on what symptoms to look for and do if one was suspected to have been infected with H1N1 influenza. By illustrating regions that were worst hit by the epidemic, the Canadian government received the light on how to effectively allocate funds for research and treatment according to the weight of the infection. The global research would later lead to the discovery of efficient antiviral drugs and vaccines.
Impact of H1N1 influenza on Nursing Practice
During the period of the outbreak, there were 428 deaths connected to H1N1 and over 40 thousand cases reported. In Alberta alone, 71 deaths were recorded and nearly 1,276 citizens hospitalized (Wagner & Clodfelter, 2014,). The government came in to reduce these worrying figures. Consequently, a Public Health Agency of Canada was established together with a boosted funding for the public health as efforts to regulate the pandemic. Apart from the funding strategies, it is also important to train more healthcare personnel, particularly the nurses. Despite the existence of several modern internet-based communication platforms, a research by Jardine et al. (2015) revealed that people have increasingly used more than a single source of information to acquire the updates on a particular disease outbreak. The nurses are the best resource for delivering immunization programs to people and creating public awareness about the infectious outbreaks such as the H1N1 because the other sources of information may be inconsistent with the reality of the health care crisis.
The unprecedented appearance of the H1N1 flu in the North American country highlighted the significance of setting prior plans for similar events. Many lessons can be learned from how health care organizations and experts responded to the virus during the initial stages of the disease outbreak. The public health promotion requires a combination of strategies such as a large number of highly trained nurses and effective health care facilities. The nurse educators have the responsibility to make public heal...