Infectious diseases internal controls

There are many infectious disease surveillance systems currently in use, operating from the local to international levels (WHO, 1998). In the United States, the CDC has the primary role in overseeing national-level surveillance and prevention/control activities related to infectious diseases (CDC, 1998). The CDC has oversight of an array of infectious disease surveillance systems, a few of which have been mentioned in previous sections. A complete listing and description of these surveillance systems is available on the CDC Web site. Several components are described in the following. 

The presence of atemperature greater than the expected 98.6°F (37°C) normal body temperature is considered a hallmark of infectious diseases. Body temperature is controlled by the hypothalamus. In addition, the circadian rhythm, a built-in temperature cycle, is also operational. The daily temperature rhythm may vary for each individual. In a healthy person, the internal thermostat is set between the... 

Philip K. Russell, M.D., is Professor of International Health, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. He is former Commander of Army Medical Research and Development. An infectious disease specialist with particular expertise in vaccines, he serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center on Infectious Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

His experimental investigations on immunity, begun in 1893, led to discovery of an accurate method for standardizing diphtheria anti-toxin. This prompted the State to create the Royal Institute for Experimental Therapy, for the statutory control of sera and vaccines. When Ehrlich assumed the Directorship in 1899, his reputation as a chemical pathologist had already been established internationally. He could well have rested on his laurels, but the chemist in him made him eager to launch out in an entirely new direction the cure of infectious diseases with small molecules, specific enough to be magic bullets that could harm only the invader. 

Blaya, J.A., Cohen, T., Rodriguez, P. et al. (2009) Personal digital assistants to collect tuberculosis bacteriology data in Peru reduce delays, errors, and workload, and are acceptable to users cluster randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Infectious Disease, 13(3), 410-418. 

In the last two decades, over forty clinical trials have examined the use of vitamin A as an intervention to reduce the morbidity and mortality from infectious disease. Large community-based controlled clinical trials have provided persuasive scientific evidence that preschool child morbidity and mortality can be lowered by improving vitamin A status. The impact of vitamin A supplementation upon case fatality rates in measles has been impressive. The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the International Vitamin A Consultative Group now recommend the use of vitamin A supplementation as a means of improving child survival in developing countries where vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem and for acute comphcated measles. These measures are expected to save thousands of children s lives in developing countries. 

---