The anthrax mail attack which occurred in September, 2011 was as a result of the anthrax spores being delivered in letters to several media houses and two US senetors. This occurred just a week after the September 11 attack which left 5 people dead and 17 people infected. This formed one of the most complex FBI investigation and it left the department of public health with several lessons to learn. Some of the lessons which were left to be learnt are: a) Treat aggressively There is need to aggressively treat sick people to prevent mortality. The aggressive treatment of anthrax which was previously thought to have 100% mortality lead to the saving of lives. This also includes prevention of new exposures by restricting access to areas of potential
In 1900, the death rate per 100,000 population for influenza and pneumonia (I & P) was 202.2; it was 22.4 in 2003. How much did the death rate due to I & P decline
During its 2002 symposium on the future of public health, the Harvard School of Public Health recalled several incidents that show anthrax to be a genuine bioterrorism threat: 1979 incidents of inhalation of anthrax in Sverdlovsk (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 131); the deliberate release of anthrax only weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 124); additional incidents of anthrax being deliberately released in 2001 (Hamburg, et al., 2002, p. 127). In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a 2006 report mentioning a 2004 anthrax incident in the Dirksen Senate Office Building (CNA Corporation, 2006, p. 1). In addition, there are numerous reports of white powder being received by business and governmental officials. Consequently, there is a realistic possibility of an anthrax (or Ricin) bioterrorist attack in the future and the average individual should know how to respond if he/she receives mysterious white powder in an envelope.
It is important to understand the references to history that the author uses, in order to properly read and understand this articles intentions. First the author references the anthrax attack carried out by terrorists in 2001. These attacks consisted of letters with anthrax spores inside of them, which were then mailed different news offices and the offices of two U.S. Senators. The attacks killed five people and infected nearly 20 others. Guinan 's
The pandemic struck the world and infected 1/3 of earth’s human population, killing over 50 million humans. The world’s top doctors have never witnessed anything of this killing magnitude besides the bubonic plague of 1348 but the transmissibility is of nothing they’ve ever seen in their lifetime or of recorded history. People abruptly became aware of the importance of health, and need of medicine and cleanliness.
Quarantine requires ethical justification and it imposes sizable costs on communities as well as individuals in terms of both liberty and economic impacts. The author mentions that basic ethical justification for quarantine stems from our moral obligation not to harm others. The author argued that the Harm Principle is to prevent harm to others. The basic principle is if quarantine prevents people from infecting others. It is fact that many people in quarantine will be exposed but not infected. It means that they are not dangerous to other people. Another principle that is described by the author is “Siracusa Principle”, which demands that coercive public health measures be legitimate, legal, necessary and represent the least restrictive means appropriate to reasonable achievement of public health goals. The basic concept is don’t use involuntary quarantine or surveillance devices. In conclusion, this article really brings the ideas on how to prevent diseases and the author describes ethical views of public health
Anthrax is a very dangerous bacteria, with no cure and the results of this attack were fatal. Five people lost their lives after coming into contact with the anthrax spores, with 22 being infected and over 10,000 more deemed to be at risk of exposure (USDJ, 2010). Dr. Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide before he could be indicted, was found to be behind the attack. The lone wolf model, where a single individual acts alone without identifiable association with terrorist organizations but on their own initiative, came to the foreground (Martin,
So if someone were to start treating this bacterium before it has done much harm, then they would often use antibiotics penicillin, ciprofloxacin or doxycycline (Obringer, 2001). Today, we have vaccines for anthrax, so they could be prevented in that way. But in a case like Frank’s, where the anthrax bacterium went into the bloodstream, it is highly unlikely that the person would survive, as the toxins would have taken over the body, and killed the
According to Bankrate, one of the most devastating attacks occurred in January of 2015, but had actually started several weeks earlier before it was even caught. In the process, over 80 million patients and employee records were
Worldwide, infectious diseases kill millions of people each year. In fact, they are the leading killer of children and cause 16% of all global
The means of dealing with infectious diseases that endanger individual and public health have evolved over the years. In 1789, however, the most protective technology used to prevent epidemics was introduced by physician Edward Jenner; vaccination. Vaccine efficiency continues to develop and become more advanced, producing immunity to infectious diseases from 90 to 100 percent of the time today. Because of inoculation, millions of people worldwide are immunized from fatal epidemics. However, because of unsubstantiated fears, many parents have been withholding vaccines from their children. Despite this, parents should not have the right to withhold vaccines from their children for philosophical reasons. Vaccines are the best way to prevent disease, vaccine exemptions endanger individual and public health, and without widespread inoculation, controlled diseases will rebound.
Vaccinations have been repeatedly demonstrated to be one of the most effective interventions to prevent disease worldwide. It was voted by readers of the British Medical Journal in 2007 as one of the four most important developments in medicine of the past 150 years, alongside sanitation, antibiotics and anaesthesia. However, vaccination currently saves an estimated three million lives per year throughout the world and so topped the list in terms of lives saved, making it one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. Modern vaccines provide high levels of protection against an increasing number of diseases and the symptoms, disability and death that can occur from them.
In a health care organization, it is important that the organization’s mission, philosophies, and ethics are followed through properly. . With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is no different. . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “mission is to protect people’s health and to support the quality of life in humans by prevention and control of diseases, injuries, and disabilities” (About CDC, 2010, page or paragraph number with quotes). With the organization's mission, philosophies, and ethics it is important that everyone’s health is protected and proper prevention of diseases, illnesses, and disabilities are given to the public in a timely manner. In this paper, the members of Team A will “describe
These precautions were harmless, but not particularly helpful. In the past, these precautions proved very effective in stopping the spread of diseases such as influenza and plague. For three decades now, people still did not know why they were getting their disease. And for three decades now, doctors, epidemiologists, and laboratory researchers were trying to figure out how the disease was spread.[2]
Anthrax vaccine is available for people in high-risk occupations. To prevent anthrax, carefully handle dead animals suspected of having anthrax; provide
While antibiotics and vaccines have numerous well-known benefits associated with prevention and recovery, what unfamiliar beneficial effects do they contribute to society? When it comes to the topic of antibiotic and vaccine use, most people will readily agree that medical treatment will greatly reduce the chance of getting ill and will improve recovery time. This agreement usually ends, however, on the question: Are antibiotics and vaccines necessary to maintain a healthy society? Whereas some are convinced that the use of antibiotics and vaccines pose a threat to society by inducing antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and encouraging virus mutation, others maintain that resistance and mutation will occur naturally, and without advances in treatment these natural changes of pathogens are the cause of devastating epidemics.