Zoonoses – say what? You may have never heard this term, but, you have almost certainly heard of H1N1 or SARS or West Nile virus or Ebola virus. Zoonoses are microbiologic infections acquired from animals. Zoonoses can come in the form of bacteria, viruses or parasites. A “zoonosis” (the singular form of zoonoses) is any disease that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. It is estimated that over 60 % of all new human diseases are zoonotic and that over 70 % of these originate with wildlife and people having close contact with pets (especially exotic pets), wild animals or livestock or their food products.
Studies over recent years have revealed a pattern of dangerous, even fatal, emerging new human diseases resulting from genetic mutations of known pathogens previously thought dead-ended in non-humans. The increased mobilization of both humans and pets, plus increased use of livestock and animal products have led to deep new concerns for the international health community. Not only the development of new diseases, but also, a recurrence of old diseases is being seen. Some of these diseases, once transmitted to humans, have the potential to create pandemics, like the one now occurring with the H1N1 “swine flu” virus. Besides causing a direct health hazard to humans, they can also affect the world’s food supply by requiring the destruction or quarantine of millions of dollars in livestock.
The huge international trade in animal products for food, plus the large scale movement of people through tourism, have increased the opportunity for these pathogens to mutate and cross transmit between species. SARS, Ebola virus, H1N1 and West Nile virus are a few that have crossed the species barrier recently and now infect humans, sometimes with devastating effects. The mutated pathogens can be transmitted via the food chain, contact with infected animals or can even be airborne or waterborne in some cases. The increased encroachment of humans into wild animal habitats, the exotic pet trade and the increase in the numbers of animals raised in close proximity are also contributing factors.
What is being done about it? One of the obstacles is detection and identification of the disease syndromes. Lack of documentation of clinical suspicion and the difficulty in recognizing the causes is delaying the identification of these new diseases. The detection and follow up study of the infection’s epidemiology will require huge investments and improvements in research. Efforts are underway through GLEWS (Global Early Warning System) in a joint system aimed at coordinating the alert mechanisms of WHO (World Health Organization, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) and others in the health community. Much more needs to be done and international cooperation is required. This is truly a World problem.
What can you do? Get immunized for H1N1 and if you own exotic pets or raise livestock be vigilant about their health.You can also keep apprised of developments by keeping up with alerts posted by the World Health Organization. If you now own or decide to purchase an exotic pet ask your veterinarian about health concerns. Purchase your pet from a licensed and reputable exotic pet dealer.
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First, why is water quality important to public health? Around the turn of the century, before chlorination began, waterborne illnesses were rampant in countries with large populations. Today, they are still rampant in third world nations and countries struggling with war or inadequate governments.
Worldwide, more than 5 million people die of waterborne or water-related diseases, every year. But, the Centers for Disease Control and the US Environmental Protection Agency reported only seven deaths in the US during the last reporting period.
That bears repeating. Of the 5 million people that died, only 7 of them lived in the US. If you were wondering why is water quality so important, that may give you part of the answer, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s another question.
Why is water quality important to long-term health?
The human body is primarily a bag of fluids. All of those fluids must be replaced on a daily basis or dehydration will result. Acute dehydration is pretty rare, but if you ever worked in an emergency room, you would see that a lot of hospital visits could be avoided if people simply drank enough fluids.
The question of why is water quality so important to a person’s long-term health has to do with several things. First, while acute dehydration is relatively rare, many chronic health complaints are related to inadequate fluid intake. Even the appearance of your skin is negatively affected when you don’t drink enough.
Second, chemical contaminants and heavy metals that are present in most supplies build up in the body faster than they can be disposed of. This leads to a variety of chronic illnesses. In addition, many of those chemicals cause cancer. For those that wonder why is water quality so important; that should drive the importance home.
Public treatment facilities in the US and other countries have done a lot to prevent waterborne illness, but they can do very little about the chemical contaminants and traces of heavy metals that are detrimental to our long-term health. Once you understand why is water quality important, you may be tempted to buy bottled, but that’s not really a good choice.
Bottling companies are allowed to use publicly treated supplies. They may or may not take additional steps to purify it. In other words, you could be buying your own tap-water.
If you truly understand the answer to “why is water quality so important”, you realize that home purification and filtration is the best option. Chlorination may have solved the problem of waterborne illnesses, but it greatly increased the number of cancer cases that are diagnosed every year. Researchers estimated that 70-80 new cases each year are a direct result of chlorination, because of exposure to cancer-causing chlorine by-products called THMs.
The better home purifiers and filters remove both THMs and chlorine, improving the taste and the safety of tap-water. They are affordable and a worthwhile investment in your long-term health. Now you know why water quality is important and how to ensure that yours is of the highest quality.
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Alzheimer’s disease is among the most costly diseases in the US, and those costs are rising rapidly as baby boomers age and life expectancy increases. Over 5 million seniors suffer from Alzheimers, and that number is expected to triple within the next 40 years. William Thies, Ph.D., the Alzheimer’s Association chief medical and scientific officer calls Alzheimer’s “clearly the Number 1 public health challenge of the 21st century.”
“People with Alzheimer’s, their families and caregivers desperately need more and better treatment options for this devastating, fatal brain disease,” he warns, “It is an overwhelming epidemic, already claiming millions of individuals, and it is on track to deplete our healthcare resources and devastate Medicare”.
The disease causes nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain, and is characterized by problems with memory, language and cognitive functions like problem solving. Over time the brain shrinks significantly, affecting nearly all its functions. Alzheimer’s patients progress from being forgetful to having difficulty performing normal tasks like cooking or driving to losing all ability to communicate or care for themselves. As their capacities diminish, they take a greater and greater economic toll on their caregivers, the economy and the healthcare system.
Researchers have yet to discover a cure, or even an effective treatment, for the degenerative brain disease, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved five drugs to slow the progression of symptoms. Alzheimer medications work best when begun in the early stages of the disease.
It’s ironic that, given the number of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Thies identifies recruiting and retaining enough participants for Alzheimer clinical studies as one of the greatest obstacles to developing the next generation of treatments. More than 400 pharmaceutical treatments are currently in clinical trials worldwide, creating what he calls an “unprecedented call for clinical trial participants.”
Although millions have been spent on drug research, results have been disappointing, with no real progress made to date. In fact, there is cause for concern that some of the drugs currently in clinical trials may actually be causing further neural degeneration and cell death by attempting to remove the protein plaque evident in the brains of Alzheimer patients. It now appears that brain plaque, long considered the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, may actually play a protective role rather than a destructive one, explaining the failure of so many research trials.
This new development underlines how little we understand about Alzheimer’s, and the need for researchers to think outside of the box and to continue to attack the disease from a variety of angles. For millions of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, a desperately needed breakthrough can’t come fast enough.
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For you who like to work with many people from different backgrounds, public health nurse can be your choice for your future job. This job has a great asset for your future life and to the society where you live in. it is because if you decide to become the nurse stated above, you will work in the society or the community.
Becoming a public health nurse, you will probably work in the clinic or the community center which gives the health services for the families come from lower class level. Another job they should do is visiting the people’s house to do some check ups or give the education they require related to their health needs.
It can be said that teaching or mentoring also becomes the part of the nurse’s job. When you work out in the families and the society, it is their job to teach the people about health information to develop their lifestyles. The people can develop their lifestyle by choosing the right and healthy choices not only in food but also other aspects in their life. With the help of government and the city officials, the nurse is also responsible to develop the people’s living condition in his or her area. For example, they can work with the business owner to reduce the tobacco sale to the minor people.
If you choose this profession, you have the responsibility to make the difference in your society’s lives. There is a possibility that you will be asked to speak in front of the people. The businessmen will ask your professional advice to keep their employee’s health. The public health nurses focuses their education to preventative medicine and wellness.
To become a public health nurse, you require the bachelor degree in nursing. Usually, in the bachelor degree, there is an education about public health in their curriculum. After having your bachelor degree, you should apply for certification.
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