Running Head: COMMUNICABLE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE 1

Communicable and Infectious Diseases

Institutional Affiliation

Date
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Principles related to occurrence & transmission of communicable & infectious

diseases

Multi-causation

For the disease to occur and involves several causes. A transmittable agent single-
handedly is not adequate to cause infection, for the disease to occur the agent has to
be passed within favorable surroundings to reach a vulnerable host.

Infection Spectrum

The infection is not caused by all contacts made by the transmittable cause and not
necessarily that all the infections will lead to a transmittable disease. Subclinical
infection is the infection that lacks signs that are not noticeable and have no symptoms.
The infections can be a mild infection or an early stage of infection. The transmittable
agent enters the host and starts to multiply inside the host. The host responds to the
functional changes caused by the infectious agent leading to illness. People who
continue to get rid of the infectious agent with no disease symptoms may be considered
as carriers (Piot, et al., 2016).

Infection Stages

Latent period

The latent period is the period between when the infectious agent enters the host finds
a conducive environment to reproduce and the onset of symptoms of the infection. The
infectious agents multiply inside the host.

Communicable period

The communicable period follows the latency. It is the time when the communicable
agent that leads a communicable disease may perhaps be transmitted from a sick
individual to another individual, from an infected individual to animals, or from an
infected animal to individuals. It starts when the agent begins to come out of the host.

Incubation period
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The incubation period may sometimes overlap with the communicable period. The
incubation period is time between when a host gets an infection and the time symptoms
first start to surface. Depending on the type of infection the host has, the incubation
periods may vary.

The spectrum of occurrence of disease

The spectrum of disease is the range by which a disease may cause illness that may be
mild-severe or fatal. The end of the disease process may be recovery, disability or
death. The incidence refers to the rate by which the disease cases are newly
diagnosed. It is the number of new cases that occur within a specific time period within
a population. Endemic is when the disease occurs constantly, maintained at an
anticipated point in an area. The outbreak is when there is an unanticipated occurrence
of a transmittable disease in specific geographic areas within specific periods of time.
The epidemic is when there is an increased level of contagious diseases within a
geographical coverage over an extensive time period. Pandemic is when there is a
steady disease happening over a huge physical area or worldwide.

Healthy People 2020 focus areas

Technology advancements

Healthy people 2020 focus on advancing technology and ensure that departments of
local public health, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and states are steady
partners in the attempt of controlling the spread of communicable disease by the Nation.
Since the infectious diseases are not limited at geopolitical borders, Healthy people
2020 objectives focus on reflecting on more mobile society. Creating awareness of the
disease, complete treatment and prevention courses play a big role in reducing the
transmission of infectious diseases.

Expanding disease surveillance

Healthy people 2020 focus on expanding surveillance in so as to reduce hospitalization,

illness, and demise from diseases that can be prevented and other diseases which is
infectious. The surveillance makes it possible for the early detection of the emergence
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and spreading of diseases. The disease surveillance allows enough time for the
response of public health which includes the production of vaccine for preventing and
controlling the diseases hence saving lives. The disease surveillance makes sharing of
information rapid which facilitates immediate treatment.

Immunization

Immunization vaccines are crucial in increasing life expectancy. Provision of child

immunization programs has highly improved child survival hence saving lives which are
associated with reducing most diseases which are infectious and can cause deaths.
Healthy People 2020 have highlighted immunization as a way of reducing illness,
hospitalization, and death.

Nursing activities in infectious diseases control

Primary prevention-they are the measures taken to prevent an injury or a disease from
starting before the beginning of the disease process. Health care organizations provide
immunization against certain diseases like measles.

Secondary prevention- they are prevention measures that enable early diagnosis and
timely treatment of illness, disease or injury to avoid the emergence of more brutal
problems. Health educators help people in communities to acquire basic skills to detect
diseases at early stages (Hawker, et al., 2018).

Tertiary prevention-these are the preventive measures taken after a significant illness
that aims at rehabilitating. It also includes the activities that prevent the already
established from worsening. Health service workers rehabilitate, re-educate and retrain
the already affected people.

The communicable disease that was eradicated & reemerged

Yellow fever

Yellow Fever infection was proved to be transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito by The
Reed Yellow Fever Commission in 1900. In 1905 United States experienced last
outbreak in New Orleans. Panama, Cuba, and Havana intensified sanitation programs
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leading to eradication of yellow Fever in these areas. Routine Childhood vaccinations

included yellow fever vaccine in South America in the 2000s (Espinal, et al., 2019).
Cases of Yellow fever have been reported annually to the World Health Organization
(WHO) from endemic South America countries and several Caribbean islands. No
reported yellow fever infections from Asia. Either, yellow fever can be accidentally
imported since the mosquito vector is still present and there is potential for outbreaks.
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REFERENCES

Espinal, M. A., Andrus, J. K., Jauregui, B., Waterman, S. H., Morens, D. M., Santos, J.

I., ... & Olson, D. (2019). Emerging and Reemerging Aedes-Transmitted

Arbovirus Infections in the Region of the Americas: Implications for Health

Policy. American journal of public health, (0), e1-e6.

Hawker, J., Begg, N., Reintjes, R., Ekdahl, K., Edeghere, O., & van Steenbergen, J. E.

(2018). Communicable disease control and health protection handbook. John

Wiley & Sons.

Piot, P., Caldwell, A., Lamptey, P., Nyrirenda, M., Mehra, S., Cahill, K., & Aerts, A.

(2016). Addressing the growing burden of non–communicable disease by

leveraging lessons from infectious disease management. Journal of global

health, 6(1).