...Cholera Outbreak in Haiti On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck one of the most underdeveloped countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti. By January 24th, 52 aftershock quakes measuring 4.5 in magnitude, or greater, shook the area (Pan American). As the area literally calmed down, the Haitian government had estimated 315,000 people died, 300,000 were injured and 1 million were homeless (Pan American). As this country tries to recover from the devastation, people find themselves in poor living conditions. Most of them, even a year later, are living in tents provided by the Pan American Health Organization (the western hemisphere version of the World Health Organization) or in make shift shelters that they have been able to assemble themselves. Living conditions are harsh. Seventy one percent of families, living in these conditions, have at least one family member go without food for one day in the previous week (IJDH). Twenty one percent have no access to drinking water (IJDH). While living under these conditions, sanitation, including adequate bathroom facilities, have not been considered or given proper priority or proper thought this is more than understandable, when one is unsure where the next meal, or drink of water is coming from, an adequate bathroom facility is not of concern. Unfortunately, the area has now come to realize the need for proper sanitation and proper facilities. Cholera is caused by a gram negative bacterium called Vibrio...
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...284 I The Johns Hopkins and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Control of communicable diseases 7 This measles 'jab' will help prevent this child from the consequences of measles such as pneumonia, malnutrition, blindness and brain disease. Photo:Marko Kokic,Canadian Red Cross Control of communicable diseases in emergencies Description This chapter gives an overview of common and emerging communicable disease threats among displaced populations because of natural and human-made disasters. General and disease-specific strategies for monitoring, preventing and controlling disease outbreaks are discussed. Learning objectives To review communicable diseases of public health importance; To discuss the basic principles for communicable disease control in emergency and post-conflict situations; To plan a communicable disease control programme for emergency settings; To discuss simple but effective ways of preventing outbreaks of communicable diseases; To describe how to manage specific disease outbreaks in emergency settings; To review re-emerging and other diseases that may affect displaced populations; To discuss how to monitor and evaluate communicable disease control programmes. Key competencies Identify communicable diseases of public health importance; Discuss the basic principles for communicable disease control in emergency and post-conflict situations; Discuss how to design and evaluate disease control...
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...Bad Bug Book Handbook of Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Introduction Food safety is a complex issue that has an impact on all segments of society, from the general public to government, industry, and academia. The second edition of the Bad Bug Book, published by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness. The information provided in this handbook is abbreviated and general in nature, and is intended for practical use. It is not intended to be a comprehensive scientific or clinical reference. Under the laws administered by FDA, a food is adulterated if it contains (1) a poisonous or otherwise harmful substance that is not an inherent natural constituent of the food itself, in an amount that poses a reasonable possibility of injury to health, or (2) a substance that is an inherent natural constituent of the food itself; is not the result of environmental, agricultural, industrial, or other contamination; and is present in an amount that ordinarily renders the food injurious to health. The first includes, for example, a toxin produced by a fungus that has contaminated a food, or a pathogenic bacterium or virus, if the amount present in the food may be injurious to health. An example of the second...
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...Biosensors and Bioelectronics 25 (2009) 661–667 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biosensors and Bioelectronics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bios Review Detection of microorganisms using biosensors—A smarter way towards detection techniques Madhura Nayak 1 , Akhil Kotian 1 , Sandhya Marathe 1 , Dipshikha Chakravortty ∗ Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Biosafety Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Along with useful microorganisms, there are some that cause potential damage to the animals and plants. Detection and identification of these harmful organisms in a cost and time effective way is a challenge for the researchers. The future of detection methods for microorganisms shall be guided by biosensor, which has already contributed enormously in sensing and detection technology. Here, we aim to review the use of various biosensors, developed by integrating the biological and physicochemical/mechanical properties (of tranducers), which can have enormous implication in healthcare, food, agriculture and biodefence. We have also highlighted the ways to improve the functioning of the biosensor. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Article history: Received 8 July 2009 Received in revised form 22 August 2009 Accepted 25 August 2009 Available online 31 August 2009 Keywords: Biosensors Microorganisms Biodefence...
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