HST6337 Communicable Disease Report Sample

HST6337 Communicable Disease Report

Instructions

Step 1: Read the fictitious communicable disease outbreaks given below and select one that your outbreak response plan will be based on.

Monkeypox

The target audience for the outbreak response plan is a local Public Health Unit/Local Health Authorities. Your plan is for a local health authority to enact in the event of sustained transmission of this disease (i.e. not just in the event of a one-off or small pocket of cases). Consideration of all potential sources of transmission should be clear. Your plan needs to consider prevention activities to disrupt the chain of infection at all Your plan needs to consider prevention activities to disrupt the chain of infection at all possible points. Your plan needs to include special advice for high-risk populations. Your plan should provide evidence-based advice, with a clear consideration of an ethical framework.

JapaneseencephaWds

The target audience for the outbreak response plan is a Public Health Unit/Local Health Authorities in north Queensland/or any tropical region in Asia or Africa. There has been a recent spike in human cases of Japanese encephalitis cases in 2 remote indigenous communities. Hospitalization and environmental health investigation data coming from the local clinics and local governments suggest that there is increased transmission occurring in several other surrounding communities The plan should outline activities to establish and respond to a large and sustained increase in local case numbers (i.e. not just in the event of a one-off or small pocket of cases). Your plan needs to consider prevention activities to disrupt the chain of infection at all possible points. Your plan should provide evidence-based advice, with a clear consideration of an ethical framework.

Ascariasis

The target audience for the outbreak response plan should be the Public Health Units/Local Health Authorities in either central Africa or southeastern Asia. The number of villagers suffering from Ascariasis has more than doubled over the past 5 years. The level of satisfactory sanitation and health literacy in the villages is poor. The impacts of climate change have resulted in a severe shortage of safe water sources, with humans often sharing drinking water with their livestock. The transmission has wizn numans orten snaring orinKing water wizn zneir iiveszocK. i ne transmission nas shown no signs of slowing.. Your plan needs to include special advice for high-risk populations. Your plan should provide evidence-based advice, with a clear consideration of an ethical framework.

Step 2:

Download the Outbreak Response Plan Template to use for the development of your plan. This template includes section headers that are required for this assessment and notes about the content. You may put the material into a different format if you wish, noting the formatting requirements, and making sure that you still cover all the assignment elements required,

Step 3:

Use the resources provided in week 4 to review examples of these plans, noting key elements and styles. Use the unit materials and skills developed over weeks 1—8 to address each section of this plan. Unit content and activities each week will directly apply to the development of this document. I have provided additional reading materials to assist you in completing this assignment. Supplement any materials you have not yet gathered with further searches of the literature to enhance your plan

Step 4:

Develop a communicable disease outbreak response plan for your chosen disease outbreak scenario. Format your work into the template. You must cover the following information in your Outbreak Response Plan:

Background (approx. 2 pages)

Step 4:

Develop a communicable disease outbreak response plan for your chosen disease outbreak scenario. Format your work into the template. You must cover the following information in your Outbreak Response Plan:

Background (approx. 2 pages)

Routine prevention activities (approx. 2 - 3 pages)

Surveillance and outbreak investigation (approx. 2 -3 pages)

Case and contact management (approx. 2 - 3 pages)

Communications (approx. 2 - 3 pages)

Solution

1. Background

1.1. Disease Agent

Ascariasis is known to be a worm infection that is caused by an intestinal parasitic nematode called Ascaris lumbricoides. The disease agent belongs to a class of parasites which is one of the most common causes of human worm infection that is also known by the term soil-transmitted helminths (CDC - Ascariasis 2020).

1.2. A natural history of the disease

Ascariasis is found to be an ancient warm infection whose eggs have been discovered in a dead body found in Peru which belongs to the year 2277 BC as well as coprolites found in Brazil which dated around 1660 to 1420 BC. Carl Linnaeus, the Father of Taxonomy, in the year 1758 named the infection-causing parasitic worm "Ascaris lumbricoides”.

The life cycle of Ascaris is carried out in three chief stages until latency where it remains in a dormant or inactive form. These stages include the egg, the Larvae, and the Fully grown adult worm. It has been found that a fully developed ascariasis worm lives within the walls of a human small interest time as the egg that was ingested fertilizes and develops into the form of a Larva. The larvae within the small in the style of human being remains in a dormant form for more than 18 days under suitable growth condition which includes moisture warmth as well as soil region (CDC 2019). The larvae when hatched from the egg invade the intestinal mucosa and reach the lungs and further to the throat in order to be swallowed back of the intestine to maintain the cycle. After the period of Dormancy, the larvae develop into a fully grown worm which thus develops the potential to cause infection within the host’s body.

1.3. Epidemiology

Ascariasis is the most commonly found human worm infection throughout the world. The infection is found to mainly occur within the human population where there is a major scarcity of sanitation and personal hygiene measures such as clean water, housing, and cleanliness. Also, there are certain places where people use human stool or feces as a source of fertilizer, people living in such a population sustain an increased risk of ascariasis. Apart from ascariasis caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, infection risk is high in places where pugs are found as Ascaris summ also infects animals and humans with ascariasis. It has been found that Infection caused by Ascariasis another human parasitic worm is high among tropical and sub-tropical regions which mainly includes, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, America, and China (Tadesse et al. 2022).

1.4. Local Reservoir

The local reservoir of Ascaris is known to be the intestinal walls of humans and with the feces of an infected human, the eggs are passed on to the soil which further follows the cycle of infection within the host body. The infection cycle is maintained as people living in areas where there is a lack of property sanitary measures and high hygiene such as proper toilets, clean water, and cleanliness using fields, bushes, gardens, or dirty toilets (de Lima Corvino DF 2023).

1.5. Mode(s) of transmission

Primary Mode of Transmission:

Ascariasis infectious agents generally remain inactive until they form into adult worms. The infective eggs enter the human body through ingestion which occurs when fingers or hands are contaminated with soil or dirt containing eggs of the worm. Throughout, the eggs travel to the intestine where they mature and form larvae which further travel through the lungs to the food pipe in order to travel back to the intestine and cause infection.

Secondary Mode of Transmission:

It has been found that transmission of the infection is carried out when contaminated food is swallowed that has been produced in the soil which consisted disposal of human stool. The mode of infection of ascariasis does not occur with person-to-person exposure (Kamdem et al. 2022).

The target population or the group with a high risk of sustaining the infection are women who are either pregnant or lactating, children, as well as adults who work in unhygienic circumstances or in soil that is rich in infectious eggs. The risk of infection among the special risk groups increases with limited and increased unhygienic circumstances (CDC 2019).

The science and symptoms associated with the infection include severe gastrointestinal complications or pulmonary discomfort. It is also associated with intestinal blockage iron deficiency, anemia, and malnutrition which altogether develops a state of impaired cognition and growth. It has also been found that severe cough is witnessed in suffering individuals due to the movement of the larva throughout the respiratory system. The short-term outcomes include nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, bloating as well as severe diarrhea. Whereas retarded or impaired growth along with malnutrition serves as a long-term outcome of the infection (Hailu et al. 2022).

2. Routine prevention activities

Focusing on the mode for MBA assignment expert of infection as well as the severity of the condition that is associated with Ascariasis, it is necessary to implement certain sets of routine preventive activities in order to minimize the risk of infection as well as sustain health and stability. One of the chief preventive measures includes hand hygiene which is one of the necessary preventive measures for any type of communicable effect infection throughout the world. It is necessary to clean other exposed body parts with soap and clean water before and after handling food in order to avoid ingestion of the eggs. Also, hand hygiene needs to be maintained in conditions where exposure to fecal matters of humans or pig is significantly present such as cleaning hands and feet after using toilets, handling pig manure, or cleaning pigs. Another significant preventive strategy includes avoiding ingestion or intake of contaminated food such as foods that are grown or fertilized in the soil where human fecal matter or pig manure is used as fertilizer. It has been found that throughout the world, children are thought to maintain cleanliness and hand and hand hygiene as one of the significant preventive measures for a different types of infection (Leung et al. 2020). Similarly, in places where pigs are present or proper cleanliness is not maintained, it is necessary to maintain proper surveillance and supervision over children in order to avoid ingestion of soil or contaminated food which may lead to ascariasis. It is also an important step to wash vegetables and fruits with clean water before eating as well as peeling off the skins and cooking all raw food products in order to avoid ingestion of the pathogenic eggs. These Preventive measures are actively followed throughout the world in order to ensure minimized risk of infection and associated complications in populations where a proper resource of sanitation and hygiene is not available.

3. Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation

3.1. Case Definition

Soil-transmitted helmet infections or ascariasis is considered to be the most common infections throughout the world by the world health organization as approximately 24% of the worldwide population accounting for 15 billion infected cases have been reported. The report highlights that the risk of infection is high among the communities which are poor and deprived of proper access to clean water healthy food and hygiene. These communities are mainly found in the regions such as tropical and tropical areas of countries such as China Asia Sub Saharan Africa as well as South America making them report major prevalent cases (World Health Organization 2023). It has also been found that more than 260 million children belonging to preschool age, 654 million of school age as well as 108 million adolescents live in regions with increased risk of parasitic infection which explains the necessary need for preventive interventions and associated treatments. It has also been found that approximately 138.8 million lactating or pregnant women are at similar risk and need proper interventions against the infection. It has also been found that in sub–Saharan Africa the burden of infection in women during their pregnancy is approximately 11 to 31%. Also, the infection has been imposing negative consequences on maternal health as well as the child (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2018).

3.2. Outbreak Detection

Outbreak detection will be carried out I conducting a proper investigation where increasing case reports of ascariasis will be assessed and evaluated. It will also be necessary to analyze the risk in the risk-prone regions where the threat of infection is high as well as the rising cases within these regions. Focusing on the recognized risk of outbreak and associated communities, a proper investigation must be conducted. Also, the frequency rate of the section and its reoccurrence will also be evaluated. After identifying the risk of an outbreak, proper diagnosis with the help of healthcare professionals must be conducted in order to confirm the rising risk of the outbreak within the settings.

3.3. Case Investigation

In order to investigate the outbreak and the rising cases it will be necessary to maintain proper evaluation and analysis of the characteristics associated with the infection It will be necessary to identify the population who are at higher risk followed by the regions or the communities whether cases of infections are higher. It also will also be necessary to analyze the time or the duration of the infection as well as the months throughout the year when the chances of risk are greater. Along with this set of information, it also will be necessary to evaluate the lifestyle as well as the environment where these populations are living (Martsev 2020).

4. Case and Contact Management

4.1. Case Management

The case management procedure will focus on developing a well-planned action in conditions where people are either suspected of the infection, highlighting the probability of the infection as well as confirmed of the infection. Public health authorities in this condition will focus on generating awareness and providing clinical information to the population in order to ensure the availability of services and precautious actions. It will also be necessary to evaluate and analyze science and symptoms within the probable or suspected populations and provide appropriate advice for the management of the condition. It will also be necessary to maintain the use of protective equipment conducting the case management as well as assistance and diagnosis (Hailu et al. 2022). It will also be necessary to develop care settings in association with primary health care services in order to provide community-based services, preventive measures, early diagnosis as well as immediate medical facilities. It will be necessary that proper preventive measures such as hand hygiene, cleanliness sanitation as well as guidance to seek proper resources will be provided with an aim to protect the public.

4.2. Contact management

In conditions where confirmed cases of infections are identified, the proper ethical principle needs to be maintained in order to provide better contact management strategies as well as advanced service delivery. One of the primary actions that need to be implemented includes privacy and confidentiality of the confirmed cases where it will be necessary to disclose sharing details of confirmed cases to the general population. In conditions where confirmed cases are identified, healthcare workers need to maintain the use of protective measures and proper hygiene in order to avoid getting infected. Also, in families where confirmed cases are living within the same setting, proper guidance and safety measures must be provided in order to avoid the spreading of the condition. Exposure to the confirmed patient must be monitored and instructed based on the severity of the condition. It will be necessary to maintain equity and trust when assisting a confirmed case in order to provide equal assistance to every individual and respect the cultural values and beliefs within the community (Hailu et al. 2022).

5. Communications

5.1. Communication with the Public

In order to communicate with the public with an aim to manage and control the outbreak of ascariasis, it will be necessary to use different communication tools. These tools will include awareness posters information and guidance-providing campaigns in association with public health care as well as different educating sessions with local authorities and schools. These communication strategies will be implemented at local and state levels in order to ensure appropriate information delivery to every individual throughout the community.

5.2. Communication with other authorities

In order to make the communication effective and proper implementation of the management plan it will be necessary to include a wide range of authorities as stakeholders in the entire process. These stakeholders will include different healthcare professionals, social care settings, primary health care as well as local and state governmental authorities also community stakeholders such as leaders and heads of the community will also be included in the communication process to ensure proper implementation of the plan and better management (World Health Organization 2020).

References:

CDC - Ascariasis (2020) CDC - Ascariasis - General Information - Frequently asked questions (faqs), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/ascariasis/gen_info/faqs.html#:~:text=Ascariasis%20is%20caused%20by%20ingesting,carefully%20cooked%2C%20washed%20or%20peeled. (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

CDC (2019) CDC - Ascariasis - Biology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/ascariasis/biology.html (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) CDC - Ascariasis - Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/ascariasis/prevent.html (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

de Lima Corvino DF, Horrall S. Ascariasis. [Updated 2023 Jan 31]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430796/

Hailu, S., Ayinie, A., Tegegn, E. and Regasa, T., 2022. A rare case of intestinal obstruction secondary to bolus of Ascaris Lumbricoides infestation: A case report and review of the literatures. International Journal of Surgery Open, 44, p.100504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijso.2022.100504

Kamdem, C.N., Tiofack, A.A.Z., Mewamba, E.M., Tchounkeu, E.Y., Tatang, J.R.A., Mengoue, E.L.T., Mbagnia, C.M.T., Fogue, P.S., Womeni, H.M. and Simo, G., 2022. Fine mapping of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm infections in sub-districts of Makenene in Centre Region of Cameroun. Scientific Reports, 12(1), p.13935. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9385646/pdf/41598_2022_Article_18285.pdf

Leung, A.K., Leung, A.A., Wong, A.H. and Hon, K.L., 2020. Human ascariasis: an updated review. Recent patents on inflammation & allergy drug discovery, 14(2), pp.133-145. https://doi.org/10.2174/1872213X14666200705235757

Martsev, A., 2020. The impact assessment of environmental factors on ascariasis incidence. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 203, p. 01021). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020301021

Tadesse Boltena, M., El-Khatib, Z., Kebede, A.S., Asamoah, B.O., Yaw, A.S.C., Kamara, K., Constant Assogba, P., Tadesse Boltena, A., Adane, H.T., Hailemeskel, E. and Biru, M., 2022. Malaria and helminthic co-infection during pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(9), p.5444. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9101176/pdf/ijerph-19-05444.pdf

World Health Organization (2023) Soil-transmitted helminth infections, World Health Organization. World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

World Health Organization, 2020. Responding to community spread of COVID-19: interim guidance, 7 March 2020 (No. WHO/COVID-19/Community_Transmission/2020.1). World Health Organization. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331421/WHO-COVID-19-Community_Transmission-2020.1-eng.pdf