Epidemiology of Ebola

Epidemiology of Ebola Genesis Santiago Introduction Historical Significance Epidemiology is the study of disease distributed amongst a certain population of people. This study zooms in on groups versus individual people in the population. Epidemiology is specifically concerned with studying and surveying a population to understand what groups are being affected and whether it is based on age, sex, ethnic group, and or occupation. Furthermore the data collected during the survey and study are utilized to come to a conclusion on risk factors and how to prevent further spread of the epidemic. The Ebola virus disease is an epidemic that has returned to claim more lives than one can count. This virus was formerly known as the hemorrhagic fever. The virus was first discovered during an outbreak dated back to the year 1976. The virus obtained its name from the Ebola River in Africa. EBOV causes death in 80 to 90 percent of cases http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemiology Natural Life History Just as any other virus Ebola’s goal is to enter the host and replicate. Ebola has one major difference from other viruses, which is that the reservoir species is unknown. Not knowing the reservoir of the Ebola virus makes this part of the life cycle a mystery. What scientists do know about the virus is the effects and the manner in which the virus operates once it has invaded the host. The virus is made up of seven proteins that work together to consume the host cell as it begins making countless copies of itself. The seven proteins that make up the virus, violently attack the body of the cell and it’s and the structural proteins of the body of the host. Ebola multiplies at a rapid speed and immediately the infected cells become full of crystal-like blocks of virus components. The incubation period of the virus is 2 to 21 days. Ebola was first discovered in Ebola River located in West Africa. Speculation about the virus living in animal host that are native to Africa has also been a hot topic. The suspected reservoirs of the virus include bats, insects, rodents and primates that can be found in the tropical forests of Africa and Asia. In other words the virus thrives in native animals. Fortunately any animal that may have the Ebola virus if cooked cannot infect a human however when uncooked it can. If the virus does not have a host or a reservoir it cannot survive. Currently scientists do not know how the virus is killed. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/index.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177623/Ebola The pathophysiology of the disease is a more complicated then many would think. If studied under an electron microscope, the virus appears as long filaments that can be branched and even weaved. The particles of the virus consist of a molecule of noninfectious single-stranded RNA. Scientists have no knowledge on how the virus attacks the cells. It has not been confirmed but researchers believe proteins suppress the immune system. These proteins that suppress the immune system are now allowed to produce replicates of the virus. Ebola can be spread through contact with bodily fluids and/or blood. Studies show that of the very few that miraculously survived from the disease still retained the virus in their organs after recovery. The disease is easy to spread in unsanitary areas that do not have enough medical supplies. Another way many are being infected is through rituals done when person has passed away. The body fluids still carry the disease. Using aseptic procedures when treating infected patient and wearing protective can prevent the transmission of the Ebola virus. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177623/Ebola/280820/Course-of-infection Prevalence, Morbidity Mortality Ebola has claimed thousands of lives already. On August 31, 2014 it was reported by the CDC that 2,106 death cases were confirmed in the laboratory of having been caused by Ebola. On September 5, 2014 it was reported by WHO that 3,944 people have been infected by the virus. The current mortality rate of the Ebola virus is 49.9 % however it can reach 90%, in other words about half of the infected cases have resulted in fatalities. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/outbreak-table.html http://healthfinder.gov/News/Article/691500/novel-ebola-vaccine-shows-potential-in-monkey-trial http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2014/09/09/cdc-calls-ebola-outbreak-perfect-viral-storm-as-infected-count-reaches-almost-4000-with-over-1500-fatalities/ Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Interventions There are three levels of interventions that can and should be applied when handling when preventing or treating disease. Primary interventions are used to reduce or prevent the chances that a disease or injury can affect a person. The primary interventions that would be applied to avoid or reduce the chances of contracting the virus is staying away from areas of known outbreaks. When consuming food avoid bush meat as they are suspected to carry the virus. When caring for patients use aseptic procedures and sanitize hands often. In order to prevent Ebola from spreading any further, everyone should be educated on the disease including signs and symptoms and the way it is transmitted. If a patient is infected use protective clothing. Another way to prevent contracting the illness is the use infection control measures. There is no cure at the moment for Ebola so there are vaccines one can receive to prevent contracting the virus. If a person becomes infected he/she must be isolated. In the unfortunate event that a patient passes away, do not attend funeral or burial that requires that one must handle the c orpse. Secondary Prevention includes practices and precaution used such as early detection screening and immediate intervention to keep the disease contained. There’s no way to detect the illness early on. It may take up to 22 days to experience symptoms of the virus. The immediate response to the disease would be to isolate the patient and begin to support the immune system. In using tertiary prevention the goal is to prevent anymore physical more deterioration of the body and improving quality of life as much as possible. Tertiary prevention does not exist at this moment as there is no known cure for Ebola virus. The only way for survival is if the patient’s immune system is strong enough to fight off the infection. The goal of a healthcare provider is to take care of the body and help to strengthen the immune system of the patient so that it can fight off the infection. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/prevention/ Healthy People 2020 Objectives What does Healthy People 2020 have to say about this problem? What objectives/goals do they have? If it is not addressed in Healthy People 2020, state so, but look into the CDC or WHO to find out what do they have to say about this problem. Provide Citations. After searching the healthy people 2020 database for information and studies done on Ebola I was unable to find any information. According to the CDC It is currently working with United States government agencies, WHO including domestic and international partners on one of the largest Ebola outbreaks. The CDC says that this outbreak is indeed the first outbreak in West Africa. Fortunately for the United States the Ebola virus does not pose a threat to the United States. Most importantly the CDC has now activated its Emergency Operations Center. The (EOC) is set up to help with technical assistance and organize communication with it’s partners. CDC has sent a number of health care experts to the West of Africa to several teams of public health experts to the West Africa region to begin helping the country in this crisis. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/outbreaks.html Conclusion/Recommendation Summarized the most important points from your research. Provide citations. What recommendations can you offer to deal with the problem. In conclusion, the Ebola virus currently does not a confirmed resivre it comes from. Due to the fact that researchers still do not completely understand the pathophysiology of the virus this disease is hard to control and no cure is known yet. The lack of knowledge on the disease including the lack of resources is the reason the virus has been spreading like a wild fire. Thousands of West Africans are growing fearful and skeptical of the disease and even more dangerously the health care providers. Thousands of people have lost their lives or loved ones to this virus. As a nation I believe all we can do at this point is pray for that this crisis is isolated, and a cure is found soon. Although there is no significant threat of the virus in our country one can never be sure, therefore we should always wash our hands, and report signs of any symptoms as soon as possible. References Epidemiology. (n.d.). Retrieved August 25, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epidemiology 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. (2014, August 29). Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html Outbreaks Chronology: Ebola Virus Disease. (2014, August 29). Retrieved September 1, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/history/chronology.html Prevention. (2014, September 19). Retrieved September 2, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/prevention/ CDC Calls Ebola Outbreak Perfect Viral Storm As Infected Count Reaches Almost 4,000 With Over 1,500 Fatalities (2014, September 5). Retrieved September 8, 2014, from http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2014/09/09/cdc-calls-ebola-outbreak-perfect-viral-storm-as-infected-count-reaches-almost-4000-with-over-1500-fatalities/

Best Practice Cases in Branding Essay

Kevin Lane Keller (born 23 June 1956) is the E. B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is most notable for having authored Strategic Brand Management (Prentice Hall, 1998, 2002 & 2008), a widely-used text on brand management. The book is focused on the â€Å"how to† and â€Å"why† of brand management, this strategy guide provides specific tactical guidelines for planning, building, measuring, and managing brand equity. He has published his research in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Consumer Research. In addition, Philip Kotler selected Keller to be his co-author on the most recent edition of Kotler’s market-leading text Marketing Management. Keller was formerly on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served as a visiting professor at Duke University and the Australian Graduate School of Management. He is an alumnus of Cornell University, Carnegie-Mellon University and Duke University. In the private sector, Keller often acts as a consultant on branding, speaks at industry conferences, and helps to manage the rock band The Church. Keller currently resides in Etna, New Hampshire. Books by Kevin Lane Keller (chronological order) Kotler, Philip/Keller, Kevin Lane: Marketing Management, 13th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 2009. Keller, Kevin Lane: Strategic Brand Management, 3rd edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 2008. Keller, Kevin Lane: Best Practice Cases in Branding, 3rd ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 2008.

Employers and Employees rights Essay

INTRODUCTION: In this piece of course work I am going to describe, using examples from Shropshire county council, the rights of the employer and its employees. I am also going to explain using examples of how the they resolve the disagreements with its employees over rights of employment or working conditions. Then I am going to evaluate the extent to which Shropshire ensures that a good working relationship exist between the employers and employees. 1. Describe the employer and employee rights of the business you have investigated in detail and give examples. We as employers and employees at Shropshire county council are protected by numerous amount of laws Some of these laws are: Equal pay act 1963 This allows us as employees to get a fair share in pay. This act will enable us to take legal action against Shropshire if we feel and have proof of not getting the right amount of pay that should be permitted. Not only does this act helps us as employees it also helps our employers. The directors of Shropshire county council employ the employers that employ us, so they too are considered to be employees. Race relation act 1976 This act allows us both as employees and employers to be treated fairly. This act has to do with the discrimination against our race or religion. It enables us to take legal actions against Shropshire if we feel and have proof of unfair treatment of our race and religion. Pregnancy and Discrimination act This act is here for both the employees and employers if we are fired or discriminated because of being pregnant. This will allow us to get compensation. If fired this will also allow us to also get our job back at Shropshire. Health and Safety act This is there for both we the employees and our employers. Not only are we protected by this act we are also responsible for the health and safety for the other members of staff. E.g. in the computer rooms we must act responsible for not permitted to smoke in non-smoking areas, if done this could affect other members of staff. 2. State how the business resolves its disagreements with employees in connection with employment and working conditions. When disputes occur at Shropshire the management will try to follow the correct procedure. Wherever possible the issue is dealt with by managers within the council. There are clear procedures to follow, which will be carefully followed. . E.g. if a member of staff was discriminated by one of his or her co-workers with proof the staff member could bring it to a union representative and ask them for help. The main union for workers in the council is NALGO (National Association for Local Workers). The officers will then advise the employees of there rights and they will then try and investigate the situation and having a meeting so that they could try and resolve the problem. If an agreement can’t be reach even by arbitration the European Court of justice night be last resort. They will then discuss the problem and the employee who was at fault could be fired or suspended for a certain amount of days/months. If suspended then the employee would return once the situation have been investigated. if this fails then they could go to a tribunal, which is a small court that resolve small cases. 3. State the weaknesses and strength on the ways that your chosen business ensures a good working relationship with the employer and its employees. Weaknesses If you are suspended for something that you didn’t do then, you can be the one who feel guilty. So I think that they should really investigate and make sure that they have the right substantial evidence before they fire or suspend the employee. Strengths It is abiding the law. All the actions that are taken are legal, and the victim could get compensation. Another strength is that there is access to the right information and there is also a department that will give people advice. > NET–> http://www.osbornebooks.co.uk/pdf/intermediate_business_1.pdf Date (18/10/04) > NET–> http://www.davidjreed.com/Corporate/business_types.htm Date (18/10/04) > BOOK–> GCSE Applied Business–> AUTHORS–> Michael Fardon, Chris Nuttall, John Prokopiw –>UNIT 1–>NUMBER–> 5&6 –>from pages 42-61 Date (18/10/04) > LEAFLET–>Shropshire County council case study –>page 121 Date (18/10/04)

How to Reach Your Goals with a Personal Development Plan