...Penang, Malaysia 1 2 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 22 August 2012 Received in revised form 27 August 2012 Accepted 3 September 2012 Available online 28 December 2012 The novel H1N1 influenza virus that emerged in humans in Mexico in early 2009 and transmitted Keywords: Ethical issues H1N1 Malaysia Mitigation efforts efficiently in the human population with global spread has been declared a pandemic strain by WHO. Here we reviewed the role of ethical issue in the prevention of H1N1. Studies with original data related to the ethical issues in the prevention of diseases (published 1996-2012) were identified via searching electronic databases to extract related information. The role of ethical issues in the prevention of diseases must be understood. This comprises work on how the society understands about a disease and what are their individuals’ tasks to conquer the outbreak. Such understanding feeds into health damaging or health promoting behavior which eventually will help in the implementation of various disease control measures. The promises of ethical issue in the various control measures that may be taken to fight the danger of pandemic H1N1 are great. 1. Introduction 2. Methods From April 2009 a pandemic caused by a novel H1N1 virus has been...
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...Influenza erupted across the globe as a mere common cold. In two years from the time the epidemic erupted, a fifth of the world’s population had already been infected. Influenza killed around fifty million people worldwide and infected twenty-eight percent of the total American population . It is estimated that 675,000 Americans died of influenza during the pandemic. The impact on the U.S. was of high magnitude, especially within the army in World War I. Due to the economic status of the U.S. at that time, soldiers during that war lived within the trenches and went through very harsh conditions of life. For instance, the total number of the U.S. soldiers who went to Europe to fight the enemy, half of them fell to the influenza virus and not to the enemy. A report by Crosby showed that an estimated 43,000 servicemen mobilized for World War I died of influenza. While others have depicted the country as a “tired nation” in a spiritual sense, Pettit and Bailie argue that post-war apathy was more likely caused by the...
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...Modern society human populations at risk of disease pandemics Sandra Mankarios 42460441 Word count: 2033 The qualities in which humans in modern day society live have increased the potential risks of the transmission of pathogens and their vectors. These risks have become limitless compared to the past; the damage created now will greatly effect future generations where the damage may even be irreversible (Washer 2006). Many factors in everyday modern life contribute to the rapid spread of pathogens and their vectors, which include the advances in modern transport via the air, land and sea, the increase in population size and density, global change and climate change. These features of today assist in the introduction of new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases including influenza, HIV/AIDS, dengue fever, malaria, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Cholera and many others (Tatem et al. 2006). MODERN ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION In the past, populated establishments were isolated due to lack of efficient transport. Now in today’s modern society, the constant advances in resources and the requirement for travel has seen the travelling of individuals dramatically increased over the years. Transport systems via land, air and sea continue to develop allowing swifter mobility of passengers and goods across vast distances within shorter periods of time. Although this is exemplary of an advancing society full of promising travel and freight options, this...
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...Seasonal Influenza Each year thousands of people in the United States are diagnosed with the influenza virus. The word “influenza” originates from the Italian word “influential” because people used to believe that the influence of the planets, stars, and moon caused the flu, that only the universal influence could explain such rapid and widespread sickness. The English adopted the word “influenza” in the mid-eighteenth century. It is known as the flu. Seasonal influenza is an acute viral infection caused by an influenza virus. What is the influenza virus? Virologists are not certain about the origins of the viruses, though they have three theories: they started as living cells and devolved into simpler organisms, they originated as primitive...
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...Next Pandemic By Michael T. Osterholm From Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005 [pic] Summary: If an influenza pandemic struck today, borders would close, the global economy would shut down, international vaccine supplies and health-care systems would be overwhelmed, and panic would reign. To limit the fallout, the industrialized world must create a detailed response strategy involving the public and private sectors. Michael T. Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Associate Director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense, and Professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. FEAR ITSELF Dating back to antiquity, influenza pandemics have posed the greatest threat of a worldwide calamity caused by infectious disease. Over the past 300 years, ten influenza pandemics have occurred among humans. The most recent came in 1957-58 and 1968-69, and although several tens of thousands of Americans died in each one, these were considered mild compared to others. The 1918-19 pandemic was not. According to recent analysis, it killed 50 to 100 million people globally. Today, with a population of 6.5 billion, more than three times that of 1918, even a "mild" pandemic could kill many millions of people. A number of recent events and factors have significantly heightened concern that a specific near-term pandemic may be imminent. It could be caused by H5N1, the avian influenza strain...
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...The Spanish Flu was the most devastating pandemic our world has ever seen. Even though few medical records exist, historians believe that 20 – 100 million people were killed by this flu. Despite the number of deaths and the severity and geographic reach of this disease, it merits little attention in the history books. Today one of our greatest medical threats is AIDS. The Spanish Flu is exponential compared to AIDS casualties (Gloria). The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 affected our world like no other disease in history. It changed the ways people sought medical help, the ways physicians treated illness, the role of medical researchers and how society, particularly medical and political leaders respond to pandemic diseases. Influenza is a unique respiratory viral disease infecting the whole respiratory tract-namely, the nose, sinuses, the throat, lungs, and even the middle ear. The disease spreads from person to person by airborne droplets produced when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. Acute symptoms of influenza, including fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain, cough, and pneumonia, are the result of the virus replicating in the respiratory tract, in which infected cells die and slough off (Rosenberg). The Spanish Flu got its name from newspaper reports of that period. It was thought that the influenza infection was carried form Asia to Spain during World War I. During WWI Spain remained neutral and the government did not censor the press. Spanish papers were filled...
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...1. PURPOSE AND CONTENTS General This section outlines the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Policy formalized by the Board of Directors of BANK on DATE. Topics covered in this policy are: Policy Statement Topic 2 Plan Overview Topic 3 Board of Directors and Senior Management Responsibilities Topic 4 Incident Response Team Responsibilities Topic 5 Business Impact Analysis Topic 6 Risk Assessment and Management Topic 7 Travel Impact and Alternatives Topic 8 Staff Training Topic 9 Employee Compensation and Leave of Absence Topic 10 Contact With Public Health Agencies Topic 11 Plan Testing Topic 12 Effective Date All employees of BANK, herein referenced to as the “Bank”, must comply with the terms of this policy immediately. Managers, employees and technical personnel must modify system configurations and procedures, if necessary, to comply with the terms of this policy within TIME PERIOD. 2. POLICY STATEMENT General It is the policy of the Bank to develop, implement and maintain a preparedness strategy with respect to the threat and potential impact of a pandemic influenza event. Pandemics are defined as epidemics or outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans that have the ability to spread rapidly over large areas, possibly worldwide. The United States Government has issued a National Strategy that discusses the threat and potential impact of a pandemic influenza event. The Implementation Plan for the National Strategy identifies roles and...
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...of Contents Introduction Page 2 What is Spanish Flu and what happened during the pandemic? Page 2 How the situation was handled in 1918 Page 2-3 Impacts from the Spanish Flu Page 3-4 Impacts of mass gathering Page 4-5 Crisis Management Page 5 Additional information that may have arose from research Page 5-6 Recommendations Page 6-7 How the Hospitality sector should act Page 7 Hotel Response Plan Page 8-9 Sample Guest Letter Page 9 Conclusion Page 9 References Page 10-11 Appendices Page 12 Introduction Spanish flu in the year 1918 was a pandemic crisis that greatly affected everyone worldwide. To this day researchers are still studying the influenza pandemic and are working to counter future pandemics. When the Spanish flu came it created many negative impacts to the daily lives of the citizens and industries. Learning from the past, there are many recommendations that industries should implement in order to counter the spreading of a future oncoming pandemic. Crisis management is important during such a deadly situation and every business should create a plan. This document talks about what is Spanish flu and how should it affected the hospitality industry. This document also talks about what steps hotels should take during a pandemic. What is Spanish Flu and what happened during the pandemic? Spanish flu is an avian flu that occurred in 1918, it was more deadly than the World War...
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...• ^ International Committee on onomy of Viruses. "The Universal Virus Database, version 4: Influenza A". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/ICTVdB/00.046.0.01.htm. [dead link] 1. ^ a b c d e f "Swine influenza". The Merck Veterinary Manual. 2008. ISBN 1442167424. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/121407.htm. Retrieved April 30, 2009. 2. ^ [1][dead link] 3. ^ Heinen PP (15 September 2003). "Swine influenza: a zoonosis". Veterinary Sciences Tomorrow. ISSN 1569-0830. http://www.vetscite.org/publish/articles/000041/print.html. "Influenza B and C viruses are almost exclusively isolated from man, although influenza C virus has also been isolated from pigs and influenza B has recently been isolated from seals." 4. ^ Bouvier NM, Palese P (September 2008). "THE BIOLOGY OF INFLUENZA VIRUSES". Vaccine 26 Suppl 4 (Suppl 4): D49–53. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.07.039. PMC 3074182. PMID 19230160. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=3074182. 5. ^ Kimura H, Abiko C, Peng G et al. (April 1997). "Interspecies transmission of influenza C virus between humans and pigs". Virus Research 48 (1): 71–9. doi:10.1016/S0168-1702(96)01427-X. PMID 9140195. 6. ^ a b Matsuzaki Y, Sugawara K, Mizuta K et al. (February 2002). "Antigenic and Genetic Characterization of Influenza C Viruses Which Caused Two Outbreaks in Yamagata City, Japan, in 1996 and 1998". Journal of Clinical Microbiology 40 (2): 422–9. doi:10.1128/JCM.40.2.422-429...
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...Pandemic Emergency Plan Name Course Professor Date Overview of Pandemic Emergency plan The Pandemic Emergency Plan is one of the 2015-2016 bills (code CMS–3178–P) addressing the campus preparedness actions and the responses designed to maximizing pandemic impact on operations within the Campus environs, students, and the employees (Dietz, 2012). The plan design is with intents of reading, understanding and exercising in response to threats and occurrences of a pandemic or just any other outbreak that may become a global epidemic. Pandemic means a widespread outbreak of communicable ailments, passing as multiple waves of illness in human population globally (Fagel, 2013). It is also illness with impact to the smaller geographical region. In the case of occurrence of a pandemic, then it shall have higher education among industries that are severely affected due to risks resultants from open and campus accessible and traveling by faculties, students, as well as the staff (PHS COF, 2014). The impacts may include lengthy closure periods of the learning institutions, unprecedented demands on students counseling and heath related services, evacuation and relocation of the students in the residence halls and significant revenue losses. In the case of a pandemic, the greatest challenges experienced in the university include the following: 1. Maintenance of students' progress to degree and research on faculties while in compliance with orders to campus closure. 2. Managing staff, faculty...
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...PART A: The Principal of family determination in organ donation ABSTRACT: This article is written by Mingxu wang,, Wen zang, Xueliang Wang. In this article the point which is stressed upon is that wether family should be given the right to give consent for organ donation of a person if he himself has not stated any statement regarding his will on organ donation. Many ethical views of different societies are discussed, especially the Chinese including the Confucians. Some cases are also explained at the end in which the families of the dead are taking decision about the organ donations. Other problems relating to this matter are also highlighted. There are many school of thoughts based on different religions and different societies. In this article the Chinese, Confucians and Mencius are discussed in detail. The Chinese place their families at a very high position. They give a lot of importance and thus during the process of deciding wether to donate the organs or not, the family is given the highest authority. Confucians however not in favour of the process of organ transplantation. Their point of view is different. They like to keep their moral values. According to them the parts of an individual are gifts from their parents and they should not be messed with.They should be left as such. My opinion, after reading this article, is that after a person dies and he has not stated that wether he would not like to donate the organs then the decision...
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...3 Famous Pandemics 35,110,000. That’s about how many deaths have been caused by just three pandemics. The 1918 Flu Pandemic, Ebola, and the Black Death are three of the most deadly, and well known pandemics to ever hit our world. The 1918 Flu pandemic killed about 35 million people. Some believed that this pandemic was invincible, and they certainly had the right to believe that. There weren’t any drugs or vaccines to help fight this pandemic. According to History.com “BLACK DEATH”,“A flu pandemic, such as the one in 1918, occurs when an especially virulent influenza strain for which there’s little or no immunity appears and spreads quickly from person-to-person around the globe.” This pandemic came in three waves, the first wave was in the spring of 1918 and was fairly mild. The second wave was much more intense and came in the fall of 1918 killing many more people than the first wave. The third wave wrapped it up ended the pandemic in the summer of 1919. This pandemic had several effects on communities, businesses, and the...
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...Epidemiology Paper Name: Course: Date: Epidemiology Paper Influenza or simply flu is one of the most devastating communicable diseases. This is because it is transmitted through the air we breathe. This simply means that being in the company of a mammal or bird that is infected is more than good enough reason for one to get infected (Naff, 2011). Influenza is caused by an influenza virus which can be of one of three types. Type A and B results to a high degree of infections. These two types are responsible for severe respiratory infections and in some cases death. Influenza virus type C on the other hand does not lead to severe respiratory infection and only causes minimal respiratory infections with little or no symptoms at all. The influenza virus is capable of modifying itself once in the body of the host. This occurs through mutation whereby vaccinations and treatment develop antibodies that go against the virus. Naff (2011) explains that this causes the virus to adjust for its survival and as a result develop into a new form that the antibodies do not see as harmful. The virus therefore has the capability of infecting a host at any time. However, it is possible for initial antibodies to recognize the mutated virus as a harmful component thereby limiting the degree of infection. In the epidemic involving the H1N1 virus in 2009, very few individuals had antibodies that could fight the virus. The flu has a number of symptoms which...
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...Ebola’s Effects on the Economy The Ebola virus is a deadly, contagious disease that spreads via contact with bodily fluids of someone who is infected and exhibiting symptoms. Since it’s introduction in 1976, the virus has resurfaced 14 times, the most recent being the outbreak in the West African countries. (Legrand et al., 2007) While the effects on the health of the general public are the most prevalent in society, Ebola also has several economic impacts: public paranoia, implementation of new public policy, and decreases population. Once Ebola spreads to a country, the general mentality of the public becomes paranoid that they are susceptible to the disease wherever they go. This fear of contagion can cause people to stop showing up for work altogether to avoid all risks of infection. This decrease in supply of labor leads to a decrease in output, or a decrease in the size of the production possibility frontier because the country does not have the labor capital to be as productive as it was before. A decrease in the PPF is reflected in a decrease in the gross domestic product of the country. The government suffers from this decrease in GDP because it is no longer receiving as much tax revenue as it was before because it has fewer goods to tax. Another effect of this behavior aversion is a decreased demand of normal goods due to low expectations of income in the near future. The less people think they will earn in the future, the less they will spend now. This decrease...
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...Epidemiology by definition is the study of the distribution and patterns of health-events, health- characteristics and their causes or influences in well-defined populations. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive medicine. Epidemiologists are involved in the design of studies, collection and statistical analysis of data, and interpretation and dissemination of results (including peer review and occasional systematic review).Major areas of epidemiological study include outbreak investigation, disease surveillance and biomonitoring, and comparisons of treatment effects such as in clinical trials. Epidemiologists rely on a number of other scientific disciplines such as biology (to better understand disease processes), biostatistics (to make efficient use of the data and draw appropriate conclusions), and exposure assessment and social science disciplines (to better understand proximate and distal risk factors, and their measurement). I would like to discuss elderly patients as my vulnerable population. There is no set age at which a person maybe under the care of a geriatric physician. The physician aims to promote health by preventing disease and disabilities in geriatric adults. A gerontologist specializes in the aging process. Adult medicine differs from the geriatric patient because the focus is on the elderly...
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