Please respond to the two peer discussion in a minimum of one paragraph each.
Megan Wilson
Discussion two
COLLAPSE
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According to the textbook, “Surveillance is a fundamental role of public health which is an ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice…” (Szklo, 2018). Passive surveillance is where there is data being collected and reported which is either mandatory or requested by health authorities. Passive reporting is limited when needing to report because during local outbreaks, these are potentially missed because of the small cases ascertained will be diluted within a large denominator of a total population of a province or country (Szklo, 2018). Although it has its flaws, its inexpensive and easy to develop; monitoring flu outbreaks for example.
Younger men who have cancer that are less aggressive would stay on active surveillance longer. Active surveillance is good for younger men who are expected to live long enough to benefit from it. Doctor visits, biopsies, testing should be scheduled and routine. The observation (Passive) surveillance would be more of follow-ups relying more on the body to help the disease rather treatment. This is controlling rather than curing.
When it comes to someone who is predisposted to cancer, testing and follow-up appointments are going to be often to make sure the cancer is caught at an early age if they were to develop it. Once someone has cancer, thats when treatment plans are put into actions depending on the kind of cancer, the probability of survival rate for the individual as well as if they want the treatment. Survillance plays a major part into this because of the two differnet levels passive and active surveillance allows.
Szklo, D.D.C. M. (2018). Gordis Epidemiology E-Book. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780323552318/
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Alexis Clate
Discussion 1-2
COLLAPSE
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Anthrax is a bacterial disease with a case fatality rate as high as 80% or more depending on how it was contracted. Anthrax disproportionately plagues poor and rural communities where prevention and control of the disease is limited or not possible at all. These communities tend to face the greatest burden on their health and economic welfare due to the illness. At the very least, effective livestock vaccination against anthrax can lessen the burden of the illness, however a rapid response team is also needed to control outbreaks that take place within the livestock anyway (Center for Disease Control, 2014). Due to the nature of the bacterium, its resilience, and the relatively small amount needed to inflict great damage, the threat of anthrax is real. Even in well-developed nations such as the United States, anthrax has and could possibly again be used as a biological weapon to inflict mass casualty, infrastructure damage, and economic collapse. Anthrax is a notifiable condition, meaning doctors report cases of diagnosed anthrax infection. Typically, the surveillance of anthrax is passive because it is rare to become infected with it in the United States, but in the event of an outbreak the surveillance becomes active. Passive surveillance is more easily maintained than active surveillance, however it runs the risk of underreporting and inconsistency of reporting the illness. Active surveillance is best suited for short periods of time, such as in an outbreak, due to the enhanced measures of reporting and investigation. However, active surveillance is more costly to maintain over a length of time and is not realistic for most agency to maintain long term. The case definition for anthrax for surveillance purposes is “an illness with at least one specific OR two non-specific symptoms and signs that are compatible with cutaneous, ingestion, inhalation, or injection anthrax; systemic involvement; or anthrax meningitis; OR
A death of unknown cause AND organ involvement consistent with anthrax” (CDC, 2018). Changing this case definition by reducing the measures it specifies could lead to increased public sensitivity. In doing so, hospitals may receive many more patients than have anthrax, however the likelihood of underreporting is less likely. By tightening this definition, the possibility for overlooking cases of anthrax increases as less people present to the hospital or doctors are hesitant to diagnose borderline cases as anthrax.
Center for Disease Control. (2018). Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) 2018 Case Definition. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/conditions/anthrax/case-definition/2018/
Center for Disease Control. (2014, August 01). Anthrax – The Threat. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/bioterrorism/threat.html
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