The contact network of patients in a regional healthcare system

Yet in spite of advances in hospital treatment, hospitals continue to be a breeding ground for several airborne diseases and for diseases that are transmitted through close contacts like SARS, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), norovirus infections and tuberculosis (TB). Here we extract contact networks for up to 295,108 inpatients for durations up to two years from a database used for administrating a local public healthcare system serving a population of 1.9 million individuals. Structural and dynamical properties of the network of importance for the transmission of contagious diseases are then analyzed by methods from network epidemiology. The contact networks are found to be very much determined by an extreme (age independent) variation in duration of hospital stays and the hospital structure. We find that that the structure of contacts between in-patients exhibit structural properties, such as a high level of transitivity, assortativity and variation in number of contacts, that are likely to be of importance for the transmission of less contagious diseases. If these properties are considered when designing prevention programs the risk for and the effect of epidemic outbreaks may be decreased

NAHEMS Guidelines: Vaccination for Contagious Diseases

Preparing for and responding to foreign animal diseases (FADs)—such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)—are critical actions to safeguard the nation’s animal health, food system, public health, environment, and economy. FAD PReP, or the Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Plan, prepares for such events. Studies have estimated a likely national welfare loss between $2.3–69 billion1 for an FMD outbreak in California, depending on delay in diagnosing the disease.2 The economic impact would result from lost international trade and disrupted interstate trade, as well as from costs directly associated with the eradication effort, such as depopulation, indemnity, carcass disposal, and cleaning and disinfection. In addition, there would be direct and indirect costs related to foregone production, unemployment, and losses in related businesses. The social and psychological impact on owners and growers would be severe. Zoonotic diseases, such as HPAI and Nipah/Hendra may also pose a threat to public health

The Levite\u27s Concubine: A Victim\u27s Fascination with Her Enslavement

In 1864, the Contagious Diseases Acts were passed by Parliament in Britain. They attempted to put a stop to the rampant disease which accompanied prostitution. The central figure in this law was the prostitute and the fallen woman. On one hand, the Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864 viewed prostitutes as commodities in a capitalistic society, and her fallen body was considered to be the source for her identity. On the other hand, opposing groups led by figures such as Josephine Butler sought to give fallen women a more natural identity which focused less on her body and more on her transcendent ability to self-determine. This thesis describes the debates about the Contagious Diseases Acts, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh as texts which frame and determine the course of debates about the place of fallen women in Victorian society

Immunizations - Not Just for Kids

Immunizations/vaccinations are beneficial for most people of all ages. Yet the mistaken belief persists that, with the exception of the flu vaccine, children should be the primary recipients of this important area of primary disease prevention. In fact, older persons require immunization as well. As people grow older they become increasingly vulnerable to a variety of illnesses, and, as informal caregivers of young children, grandparents need to be sensitive to their role in preventing the spread of contagious diseases to the young

Hearing Loss in Infectious and Contagious Diseases

Hearing loss can occur for various reasons, whether it is of a genetic, congenital or acquired character. Infectious diseases stand out among those causing this type of deficiency and account for approximately 25% of all cases of profound hearing loss. Of these, one-fifth are due to congenital causes. As to classifying hearing loss, this can be done according to where this is in the hearing system, to whether the loss is unilateral or bilateral, and to its intensity or degree. Regarding where the hearing system is affected, hearing loss can be about transmission (or conduction), perception (sensorineural), or mixed. Hearing losses arising from any affection of the outer and middle ear are called transmission or conductive losses. Sensorineural losses occur due to lesions on the hair cells of the cochlear organ of Corti (inner ear) and/or of the cochlear nerve. When there is concomitant conductive and sensorineural affection, the loss is classified as mixed. Hearing loss can interfere in the lives of affected individuals, since besides affecting communication, it can influence the quality of life, when the loss leads to feelings of sadness and anxiety, or even to social isolation. In children, it can moreover represent consequences for development. Thus, appropriate treatment and/or monitoring of infectious diseases is important, the purpose of which is to see to it that hearing loss is prevented or diagnosed early

SOCIAL MEDIA AND UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION ON CONTAGIOUS DISEASES: THE CASE OF MEDICAL STUDENTS OF ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL ABA

This research examines social media and utilization of information on contagious diseases by medical students of Abia State University Teaching Hospital Aba. The research adopts survey design to investigate a sample of 321 medical students of ABSU Teaching Hospital who were registered undergraduates in the 2017/2018 academic session. Because the number of the students was adequate and manageable, the research adopted the census sampling technique. Structured and validated questionnaire with a reliability coefficient value of 0.81 was used to gather data for the study. Results reveal that the medical students received and made use of information on contagious diseases from six social media platforms covering causes, pattern of spread, type of people affected, effects, drug administration and strategy to avoid infection. Economic, social, infrastructural and environmental challenges impeded receipt and use of information by the students. Provision of functional computer sets with adequate cyber network in the hospital library is one of the recommendations that could ameliorate the challenges. The paper concludes that since receipt and utilization of information on contagious diseases is quick and accurate through social media platforms, quality internet services should be sustained in the medical library

Pioneers in the Victorian provinces: veterinarians, public health and the urban animal economy

From the 1850s in Britain, concerns were growing about the role of animals in transmitting disease to man, whether through the food chain or through infection. While London is often seen as providing a model for public health reform, it was the great provincial cities that initiated veterinary involvement in public health in the closing years of the century. The emergence of this new strand of public health activity is the subject of this paper