Public Health Issues

West Nile: The Dallas Experience The current outbreak of West Nile disease in Dallas, TX calls for re-evaluation of our preparedness to emergency health care events. In this particular incident, expectations were that the public health system will do greater good for the community, and the population under the radar (Moore, Shiell, Noseworthy, Russell, Predy, 2006). Take for example the outbreak of SARS in Toronto, Canada, the preparedness, readiness, and the capacity to contain and respond to this outbreak produced positive outcome. It was a fortunate experience for Canadians. So the question is: did the Dallas Department of Public Health and Environment rely on fortune or were there infrastructures on ground to address the threat of such an emerging infectious disease? Looking outwardly, are there mechanisms in your locality, county, state, and country, continent to prevent and control the outbreak of infectious diseases of any kind? What are the commitments of the feder...

It has become pertinent for public health to remain focused on infectious disease rather chronic disease in this day and age because of the erroneous declaration of the death of infectious disease. This assertion emanates from the challenge posed by the resurgence of infectious disease and appearance of AIDS, in particular, in the early 1980s (Schneider, 2011). Combating the re-emergence of infectious disease became highly important for public health to re-channel their efforts at containing this sudden appearance of AIDS, Ebola, and West Nile and re-appearance of infectious diseases. The mode of transmission of these infectious diseases equally highlights the essence of public health’s need to re-focus attention. In so doing, a better understanding of means and methods of proffering solutions remains important. Testing and screening of disease victims is important in the fight against HIV (Schneider, 2011). The fact that transmission pathways differ from country to country and pop...

                   It has become pertinent for public health to remain focused on infectious disease rather chronic disease in this day and age because of the erroneous declaration of the death of infectious disease. This assertion emanates from the challenge posed by the resurgence of infectious disease and appearance of AIDS, in particular, in the early 1980s (Schneider, 2011). Combating the re-emergence of infectious disease became highly important for public health to re-channel their efforts at containing this sudden appearance of AIDS, Ebola, and West Nile and re-appearance of infectious diseases.                    The mode of transmission of these infectious diseases equally highlights the essence of public health’s need to re-focus attention. In so doing, a better understanding of means and metho...

Public Health Issues: Bath salts, bad taste! : Bath salts, bad taste! It is a bitter pill to take. It is bitter in the sense that it is the modern-day reality. It is what the soci...

Bath salts, bad taste! It is a bitter pill to take. It is bitter in the sense that it is the modern-day reality. It is what the society is battling to cage. Bath salts have ravaged and vanquished so many young Americans in the recent past. The recent sordid and unsavory story about bath salts is that of a 24 year old Florida man by name Randy Eugene who chopped off the face of a 64 year man Ronal Poppo on May 26 th , 2012 due to high inhalation of ( http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/05/31/erin-new-pics-bath-salt-cannibal.cnn?iref=allsearch ) bath salts. In Colorado, the strangulation death of a 19-year-old man could be linked to the emerging threat posed by the ingestion of bath salts ( http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_20762986/bath-salt-drugs-called-emerging-threat-colo ). What bath salt is not? Bath salt is never bath salt. It is not anything close to the name. What bath salt is? Bath salt is a stimulant that is sold under the guise of bath salt or pla...

Public Health Issues: Dana Crash and public health : The Dana plane crash in Lagos and public health implications No doubt that there must be some health fall-outs from the Dana airline...

The Dana plane crash in Lagos and public health implications No doubt that there must be some health fall-outs from the Dana airline plane that crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, on the 3 rd of June, 2012. The public stand at risk of jeopardizing their health especially those with pulmonary problems. There are speculations that within the vicinity of the crash will be newborn babies with immature lungs, fragile and immuno-compromised old men and women, young men that smoke cigarettes and second-hand smokers, young women that has been exposed to smokes that exudes during cooking on kerosene stove, firewood or even gas ovens and pregnant women. With an already saturated and polluted air, compounded with the countless generators in almost every apartment or compound, the inflamed flight and charred bodies have added more risk to the population around the crash scene and eye-witnesses. It is observable that most people that ran to the scene of the crash had no nose mask, safety boots ...