Infectious disease outbreaks

Water-Borne Infectious Disease Outbreaks Associated with Water Scarcity and Rainfall Events... 

Abundant literature on the increase of the densities of faecal pathogens and indicators in water sources during dry and rainy periods and the significant effect of rain in water-borne infectious disease outbreaks exist and prove all these assertions. 

Infectious disease outbreaks usually occur in the postimpact and recovery phases of a disaster (not during the acute phase). 

RISK FACTORS FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS FROM DISASTERS... 

Populations affected by a disaster may experience severely diminished environmental conditions that put them at risk for negative health outcomes. Health promotion and disease prevention initiatives must be implemented immediately to protect the health of all affected individuals, including meeting basic physiologic needs in a timely manner to ensure survival. Infectious disease outbreaks will usually occur in the postimpact and recovery phases of a disaster (not during the acute phase), and the risks of epidemics increase if drought, famine, and/or large displacements of people are involved. 

An example of an international surveillance network is the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN WHO, 2006). The GOARN, which is overseen by WHO, includes f20 networks and institutions in WHO member nations and provides electronic data on infectious disease outbreaks around the world. 

The value of spotting the unusual has been demonstrated by a number of infectious disease outbreaks in the United States. A classic example is the initial reports of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic. Alert clinicians in California and New York City noted clusters of rare illnesses, Kaposi s sarcoma and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, among homosexual male clients in their practices (CDC, 1981a, 1981b). In May 1993, a New Mexico medical examiner reported two deaths from acute respiratory failure 5 days apart (CDC, 1993). 

From an epidemiological standpoint, the general process of investigating a potential bioterror event and the objectives are the same as for any other infectious disease outbreak (Franz et al., 2001). Investigation of an outbreak involves a number of activities. These activities are adapted from a list developed by the CDC (1992) ... 

Green, M.S. Kaufman, Z. 2002. Surveillance for early detection and monitoring of infectious disease outbreaks associated with bioterrorism. Isr. Med. Assoc. J. 4 503-506. 

For healthcare personnel, transient, pathogenic microorganisms are the more significant. Contaminant microorganisms are responsible for infectious disease outbreaks passed from healthcare personnel to patients via hand contact. For an antimicrobial product to be effective, it should afford both immedi-... 

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