scholarly journals Model-based risk assessment and public health analysis to prevent Lyme disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 170841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Sharareh ◽  
Nasim S. Sabounchi ◽  
Amanda Roome ◽  
Rita Spathis ◽  
Ralph M. Garruto

The number of Lyme disease (LD) cases in the northeastern United States has been dramatically increasing with over 300 000 new cases each year. This is due to numerous factors interacting over time including low public awareness of LD, risk behaviours and clothing choices, ecological and climatic factors, an increase in rodents within ecologically fragmented peri-urban built environments and an increase in tick density and infectivity in such environments. We have used a system dynamics (SD) approach to develop a simulation tool to evaluate the significance of risk factors in replicating historical trends of LD cases, and to investigate the influence of different interventions, such as increasing awareness, controlling clothing risk and reducing mouse populations, in reducing LD risk. The model accurately replicates historical trends of LD cases. Among several interventions tested using the simulation model, increasing public awareness most significantly reduces the number of LD cases. This model provides recommendations for LD prevention, including further educational programmes to raise awareness and control behavioural risk. This model has the potential to be used by the public health community to assess the risk of exposure to LD.

Author(s):  
Ian T. Williams ◽  
Laura Whitlock ◽  
Matthew E. Wise

Public health officials investigate outbreaks to control them, to prevent additional illnesses, and to learn how to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. The process the public health community uses to detect, investigate, and control enteric (intestinal) disease outbreaks from food, water, and other sources involves certain procedural steps. These include detecting a possible outbreak, defining and finding cases, generating hypotheses about likely sources, testing the hypotheses and evaluating evidence, finding contamination sources, controlling the outbreak, and determining when the outbreak is over. Investigating outbreaks of acute enteric diseases can be a dynamic and complex undertaking involving multiple public health and regulatory partners in different jurisdictions. This chapter provides an overview of the investigation process with an emphasis on multijurisdictional foodborne illness investigations in the United States.


Author(s):  
Effy Vayena ◽  
Lawrence Madoff

“Big data,” which encompasses massive amounts of information from both within the health sector (such as electronic health records) and outside the health sector (social media, search queries, cell phone metadata, credit card expenditures), is increasingly envisioned as a rich source to inform public health research and practice. This chapter examines the enormous range of sources, the highly varied nature of these data, and the differing motivations for their collection, which together challenge the public health community in ethically mining and exploiting big data. Ethical challenges revolve around the blurring of three previously clearer boundaries: between personal health data and nonhealth data; between the private and the public sphere in the online world; and, finally, between the powers and responsibilities of state and nonstate actors in relation to big data. Considerations include the implications for privacy, control and sharing of data, fair distribution of benefits and burdens, civic empowerment, accountability, and digital disease detection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Jaruwan Viroj ◽  
Julien Claude ◽  
Claire Lajaunie ◽  
Julien Cappelle ◽  
Anamika Kritiyakan ◽  
...  

Leptospirosis has been recognized as a major public health concern in Thailand following dramatic outbreaks. We analyzed human leptospirosis incidence between 2004 and 2014 in Mahasarakham province, Northeastern Thailand, in order to identify the agronomical and environmental factors likely to explain incidence at the level of 133 sub-districts and 1,982 villages of the province. We performed general additive modeling (GAM) in order to take the spatial-temporal epidemiological dynamics into account. The results of GAM analyses showed that the average slope, population size, pig density, cow density and flood cover were significantly associated with leptospirosis occurrence in a district. Our results stress the importance of livestock favoring leptospirosis transmission to humans and suggest that prevention and control of leptospirosis need strong intersectoral collaboration between the public health, the livestock department and local communities. More specifically, such collaboration should integrate leptospirosis surveillance in both public and animal health for a better control of diseases in livestock while promoting public health prevention as encouraged by the One Health approach.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S160-S165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne S. Ringel ◽  
Melinda Moore ◽  
John Zambrano ◽  
Nicole Lurie

ABSTRACTObjective: To assess the extent to which the systems in place for prevention and control of routine annual influenza could provide the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic.Methods: The authors conducted a qualitative assessment based on key informant interviews and the review of relevant documents.Results: Although there are a number of systems in place that would likely serve the United States well in a pandemic, much of the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic optimally is not available.Conclusions: Systems in place for routine annual influenza prevention and control are necessary but not sufficient for managing a pandemic, nor are they used to their full potential for pandemic preparedness. Pandemic preparedness can be strengthened by building more explicitly upon routine influenza activities and the public health system’s response to the unique challenges that arise each influenza season (eg, vaccine supply issues, higher than normal rates of influenza-related deaths). (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S160–S165)


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayanne Rakelly De Oliveira ◽  
Mayanne Santana Nóbrega De Figueiredo

Este texto tem como objetivo trazer considerações epidemiológicas e conceituais sobre a sífilis, o tratamento de parceiros sexuais e a inserção do enfermeiro em ações de prevenção e controle desse importante agravo à saúde pública. Enfatiza os aspectos relacionados às medidas de controle dos casos, à terapêutica da doença e à magnitude das complicações visando a contribuir para o aprofundamento da temática e reflexão da prática profissional.Descritores: Sífilis, Parceiros Sexuais, Enfermagem, Saúde Pública.Conceptual approach on syphilis in pregnancy and the treatment of sexual partnersThis text aims to bring epidemiological and conceptual considerations on syphilis, the treatment of sexual partners and the insertion of the nurse in prevention actions and control of this relevant grievance to the public health. It emphasizes the aspects related to control measures of the cases, to the therapeutics of disease and the magnitude of the complications seeking to contribute to the deepening of the theme and the reflection of professional practice.Descriptors: Syphilis, Sexual Partners, Nursing, Public Health.Abordaje conceptual sobre la sífilis en la gestación y lo tratamiento de las parejas sexualesEnfoque conceptual de la sífilis en el embarazo y el tratamiento de las parejas sexuales. Este texto tiene como objetivo integrar consideraciones conceptuales y epidemiológicas sobre la sífilis, el tratamiento de las parejas sexuales y la inclusión de los enfermeros en la prevención y control de este importante agravio de salud pública. Destaca los aspectos relacionados con los casos, con la terapéutica de la enfermedad y con la magnitud de las complicaciones con el objetivo de contribuir a la profundización de la temática y la reflexión de la práctica profesional.Descriptores: Sífilis, Las Parejas Sexuales, Enfermería, Salud Pública.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yi-Cheng Zhang ◽  
Zhi Li ◽  
Guo-Bing Zhou ◽  
Nai-Ru Xu ◽  
Jia-Bao Liu

After the occurrence of public health emergencies, due to the uncertainty of the evolution of events and the asymmetry of pandemic information, the public’s risk perception will fluctuate dramatically. Excessive risk perception often causes the public to overreact to emergencies, resulting in irrational behaviors, which have a negative impact on economic development and social order. However, low-risk perception will reduce individual awareness of prevention and control, which is not conducive to the implementation of government pandemic prevention and control measures. Therefore, it is of great significance to accurately evaluate public risk perception for improving government risk management. This paper took the evolution of public risk perception based on the COVID-19 region as the research object. First, we analyze the characteristics of infectious diseases in the evolution of public risk perception of public health emergencies. Second, we analyze the characteristics of risk perception transmission in social networks. Third, we establish the dynamic model of public risk perception evolution based on SEIR, and the evolution mechanism of the public risk perception network is revealed through simulation experiments. Finally, we provide policy suggestions for government departments to deal with public health emergencies based on the conclusions of this study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-59
Author(s):  
D. Yang ◽  

New coronavirus pneumonia has had a significant impact on people's health and safety since the outbreak in the early 2020. The latest version of the new coronavirus pneumonia virus is still spreading around the world. China's public health system has passed a severe test: under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the joint efforts of people of all ethnic groups, China won a great victory in the anti-epidemic campaign. Nevertheless, the public health system has also identified some challenges that need to be actively addressed in the area of medicine and health during the prevention and control of epidemics. This article deals with these issues.


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