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Smallpox
Published in Scott M. Jackson, Skin Disease and the History of Dermatology, 2023
Rhazes pointed out that an entity designated as smallpox does not appear in the Galenic corpus, but Rhazes believed that Galen was the first to describe smallpox and that his description was lost in translation, i.e., the Greek term for smallpox was erroneously translated to denote acne.19 The fact that Rhazes considered smallpox to be a disease of childhood implies that smallpox was endemic in his part of the world at the time of his writings. Endemic diseases are always present in the community, and children are more susceptible to them because the adults are immune since they already experienced the ever-present disease in their own childhood.
Introduction to Infection, Resistance, and Immunity
Published in Julius P. Kreier, Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
In an endemic disease situation, those individuals who are least affected by disease are most likely to reproduce. In this way, infectious organisms will eventually select for a relatively resistant host population, a process that some people argue actually led to the development of immune systems. Similarly, pathogen selection in resistant hosts leads to propagation of those organisms that are most able to survive and replicate in the face of an efficient immune response and hence can in some way elude elimination by the response. Specific pathogens coevolve with specific hosts and stable pathogen and host relationships reflect subtle checks and balances that have evolved over eons of time. These are worked out through the genetic sculpting of interacting host and pathogen proteins. A pathogen that causes no signs of disease in one host population, or species, may nevertheless cause devastating disease in another due to minor variation in the structure of one or more interacting molecules. This lies at the core of so-called "emerging diseases." Control of such diseases will challenge our ingenuity in upcoming decades as we move into and attempt to exploit new niches while challenging the carrying capacity of the regions in which we live.
Introduction
Published in Rui Nunes, Healthcare as a Universal Human Right, 2022
It is not just a question of curative care; rather, according to the Declaration of Alma-Ata, it is an approach to the main health problems of a community via health promotion and prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary), and patient treatment and rehabilitation. This declaration emerged from a conference held in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) sponsored by the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), which aimed at highlighting the importance of primary healthcare besides emphasizing its vital importance in any healthcare system. Primary care presupposes a global vision of health along with curative medicine and rehabilitation. Primary care is fulfilled through a well-defined strategy: a) educate for health promotion and disease prevention; b) promote education for responsible sexuality; c) provide maternal and child care and family planning programs; d) promote healthy eating and nutrition; e) guarantee basic sanitary conditions; f) implement mandatory vaccination programs; g) prevent endemic diseases in the population; and h) ensure access to necessary medicines.
Combating malaria in Kenya through collaborative population health education: a systematic review and pilot case study
Published in Infectious Diseases, 2023
Hester Lacey, Nityanand Jain, Mai Sugimoto, Masako Shimato, Ieva Reine, Kevin Oria
Food and water insecurity in the context of climate change weakens both the health of the population and the economy, resulting in a reduced capacity to cope with the increased burden of disease and a reduction in the resources available to support health systems [17]. Inequalities in access to safe drinking water, hygiene facilities, and adequate sanitation have a clear impact on malaria transmission, morbidity, and mortality [18]. Inequitable access to public health education also contributes to poor knowledge about malaria and other communicable diseases. Limited recognition of symptoms and a lack of understanding of measures to prevent the spread of malaria have promoted inappropriate care-seeking behaviours in rural indigenous communities [19]. This, in turn, perpetuates the spread and persistence of endemic disease outbreaks.
Accelerating the development of vaccine microarray patches for epidemic response and equitable immunization coverage requires investment in microarray patch manufacturing facilities
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2023
Tiziana Scarnà, Marion Menozzi-Arnaud, Martin Friede, Kerry DeMarco, George Plopper, Melinda Hamer, Ajoy Chakrabarti, Philippe Alexandre Gilbert, Courtney Jarrahian, Jessica Mistilis, Renske Hesselink, Kristoffer Gandrup-Marino, Jean-Pierre Amorij, Birgitte Giersing
As the need increases for rapid, high-volume vaccines to emerging pathogens, alternatives to conventional needle-based vaccines to allow easier, faster, and broader rollout become high-priority public health goods. Given the substantial backsliding in immunization coverage in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the increase in zero dose and under-vaccinated children, we believe that there is an overwhelming global public health need – now more than ever – to develop innovations to prepare for and prevent against outbreaks of both endemic diseases such as measles as well as future pandemic outbreaks. vMAPs have great potential for meeting these needs; however, accelerating their availability requires immediate investment in pilot manufacturing capabilities. The current momentum around improving pandemic preparedness and response is an opportunity not to be missed. This will require innovative incentives and cost-sharing and de-risking strategies that, as demonstrated by past and current lessons learned, would be best funded and implemented through a broad collaboration of stakeholders who are active from early-stage development through procurement. This would mitigate risk and ensure an end-to-end view of the development and uptake pathway from the start. Herewith, to maximize the likelihood of success, all stakeholders – such as MAP developers, vaccine manufacturers, funders, donors, and investors – will need to join forces to invest in and accelerate vMAPs now.
Concerns and public health challenges for arboviral and other respiratory infections amidst SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2020
Ankita Agarwal, Deepti Chaurasia, Paban Kumar Dash
Tropical and sub-tropical countries face annual epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, and other respiratory infections. Every year, these diseases put a huge burden on health care settings. Due to the similar initial symptoms, diagnostic challenges will be faced by clinicians during concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 and these endemic diseases. Different pathogens in a clinical specimen may interfere with the target virus, resulting in misdiagnosis. Also, cross-reactive antibodies may lead to misleading serological results. A recent report from Singapore has described the false-positive serological results for dengue in two patients, which were later found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2[3]. False-positive dengue serology can have serious implications for patients. Another report from Thailand has described a patient who was initially diagnosed with dengue fever, but later found to be co-infected with SARS-CoV-2[4]. And in a patient from Pakistan with COVID-19 like symptoms and travel history to high-risk areas, SARS CoV-2 was found to be negative, but later found seropositive for dengue and measles[5]. This highlights the importance of alternate diagnoses of tropical infections and complete respiratory panel by the clinicians during the current pandemic.