Research Aimed At Promoting Health Of A Particular Place (Term Paper Sample)

Epidemiology in Miami
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Epidemiology in Miami
Introduction
The epidemiology, immunization and the processes of disease control are often conducted with the primary aim of promoting the health of the residents in a particular county. In most cases, the processes mentioned above are accomplished through field monitoring and investigations, assessing the health of the public, public health assessment and surveillance and preparation of a state for any emergency that may occur. Therefore, this paper tends to analyze the health conditions of the Miami city in south Florida that is mainly characterized by its high population and hence regarded as the most populous city in south Florida. Access and choices are the main determinant of a healthy community. In most cases, the way a particular community is designed, as well as, its accessibility to a healthcare facility contributes significantly to the health of a community (Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 released, 2015). The main goal of the health plan 2020 is to improve the wellbeing of a community and a state thus boosting the immunity of the people living in the state and hence leading to a healthy community. Some of the measures that are taken in the health plan 2020 are boosting vaccinations against some infections to prevent rising number of new infections and hence promoting a healthy community (Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 released, 2015). Therefore, this essay seeks to determine the population communicable illnesses present in Miami and the measures taken by the state to contain the infections as per the health plan 2020. Some of the common infections that will be discussed in the essay are influenza, malaria and Acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS).
Infectious illnesses in Miami
In Miami, influenza is the main respiratory infection that affects a large number of residents in Miami. Flu or influenza is a respiratory infection that is caused by various flu viruses. It is estimated that the virus in Miami affects about 15 – 40 percent of the population every year (Gomez et al., 2012). Besides that, estimates have been provided with claims that about 36000 people in Miami die of influenza every year while 114000 people are admitted in hospitals due to the virus. Therefore, flu is an infection that has cost the lives of many people and hence attracting the attention of the health department of Florida and of the United States of America as well. Up-to-date, the virus affects the nationality at lower levels since among every 20 people at least two people are suffering from the flu virus. However, the virus was identified in the year 1931 and the aged people and the people with other complications are likely to suffer severely due to the flu virus (Gomez et al., 2012). Therefore, to contain the infection as per the health plan 2020, the people of Miami are advised to be vaccinated annually. As a result, the number of deaths and severe complications from the influenza virus are substantially reduced.
Malaria is another population communicable illness that is present in Miami. Despite the fact that the malaria-causing mosquito is not found in the United States, Miami has the largest population of foreign people. Therefore, this makes the county susceptible to malaria infections. The diverse mixture of people that is present in Miami tends to give rise to a number of health concerns such as malaria illnesses. In the year 2012, about 65 imported malaria infections were reported in Florida (Alimi et al., 2016). The fact that malaria cases have been recorded in Miami shows that it would be impossible to maintain a healthy community if the global community is unhealthy. After the malaria cases were recorded, measures were taken in the county to reduce the impact of the disease on the population. For example, in the year 1947, about 15000 cases of malaria were reported in malaria while by the year 1950; the number had dropped to about 2000. Therefore, this shows that certain measures were taken by the government of the USA to reduce the number of deaths and malaria cases. However, malaria remains to be the leading death cause worldwide with about half of the world’s general population at brisk of acquiring the illness. In attempts to completely subsidize the number of malaria infections in the county today, the government of the USA has introduced malaria vaccine measures such as the use of treatable nets and use of chemicals to kill the malaria causing mosquitoes and other mosquitoes as well (Alimi et al., 2016). Besides that, treatment of the disease has been made much easier since people suffering from the illness can seek medical help at lower prices. Therefore, the plan of action to contain malaria infections has been conducted in the state appropriately as per the health plan 2020.
AIDS is another population communicable infection that affects the people of Miami. A virus, HIV that is transmitted through body fluids, causes the disease. Moreover, the first case of HIV/AIDS that was recorded in Miami was in the year 1992. The virus spread throughout the county and Florida as well with very many cases recorded. Besides that, the number of deaths that were recorded by the year 2000 was estimated to about 114000 in Miami County. On the other hand, the people who were diagnosed to have the infection kept increasing resulting in risks of new infections (Kenya et al., 2016). Additionally, the number of people affected by the virus is higher in Miami as compared to any other county in the United States of America. The state spends millions of dollars annually to prevent the rising number of new infections in the United States of America. Consequently, the anti-retroviral drugs have been introduced to reduce the number of HIV related deaths in the county. The drugs tend to boost the weakened immunity of a patient who has been diagnosed with the infection. Moreover, measures have been introduced to enable a victim to live normally without passing the infections to other people (Kenya et al., 2016). As a result, the number of HIV new infectio...