Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
Cong T. Nguyen
Class: TA1.02
November, 2015
MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 2
Introduction
Emerging and re-emerging epidemics have been posing an extreme threat to global health
security. An epidemic is defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as a large number
(Epidemic, n.d., para. 1). In reality, at different times and in different places, outbreaks of
epidemics would cause diseases, disability, and deaths as well as destabilize global economy and
population. The Modern Plague, for instance, occurred in the 1860s and caused over 12 million
deaths in China, India and Hong Kong (Deadly diseases, 2014). Recently, the World Health
Organization has revealed closely to 27,000 suspected or confirmed cases and over 11,000
Ebola-related deaths have been recorded (World Economic Forum [WEF], 2005, p. 4).
Epidemic diseases have been becoming an extreme warning on the global scale and the situation
may even become worse in the future. This essay characterizes some major factors contributing
epidemic outbreaks and spread, including agent, host and environment. The agent is whatever
causes the disease. The host is where the agent lives. And the environment is all the rest of the
agents' and hosts' surroundings (Baylis, n.d.). In some cases, a third party called the vector is
required for the agent to get access to the host. (The Pennsylvania State University [PSU], n.d.;
Rockett, n.d.). According to Miller (2002), the model can be used for non-infectious diseases of
which the agent could be unhealthy behaviours, unsafe practices, or unintended exposures to
The agent is one of three elements in the Epidemiologic Triangle. An agent causing
example, a bacterium named Yersinia pestis results in plague disease which is notorious for
killing millions of European people during the Middle Ages (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention [CDCP], 2015). As time went by, the concept of agent has been broadened to
include chemical and physical causes of disease or injury, including chemical contaminants and
The host or social factor in the triad refers to a susceptible human or animal bearing the
agent. The host has numerous typical characteristics known as host factors which can affect an
individual's exposure, susceptibility, or response to a causative agent (CDCP, 2012, para. 6).
Considering the host and the environment as key factors, A Lee (2003) wrote:
The susceptibility of the host depends on its ability to fight off the infection, which can be
mechanism. The ability of non-defence mechanism to fight off infectious disease will
depend on the hosts general health status, nutritional status, age, coexisting chronic
illness, etc. If you have a population that is healthy, fit, and well nourished, the chance of
Environment
The environment includes external factors affecting the agent and the possibility of
exposure. Generally, these factors are categorized as the social, physical or biological
environments. The social environment includes factors like education, unemployment, economy,
MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 4
transportation and availability of health care service; the physical environment may include
factors like climate, land and contamination; biological environmental factors may be vectors,
humans and plants functioning as reservoirs of infection (Kebede, 2004). The favorable or
unfavorable environment is essential to the survival of the agent, its ability to infect the host and
its transmission (Lee, 2003). For example, eggs of hookworms in excrement may hatch under
favorable environment involving moisture, temperature and soil type, which makes a
contribution to the cycle of hookworm disease transmission (Cliff, Haggett & Smallman, 2004).
Consequences
Mortality
number of the inhabitants in or around the infected areas. Smallpox in 430 BC, for instance,
killed over 30,000 people in Athens, Greece, which was relevant to at least 20% of the citys
population. Striking again in 1519, the Smallpox epidemic caused between 5 to 8 million deaths
in the following two years. The Plague of Justinian, which began in 541 AD and lasted nearly
200 years, was estimated to claim 50 million lives in the Middle East, Asia and the
Mediterranean basin. The human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, the cause of acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS), has killed more than 25 million people since the first cases were
reported (Deadly diseases, 2004). Facing extreme effects of epidemics in various types, human
Economy
Infectious diseases have negative influences on national and global economy in terms of
medical costs and foregone income. One of the most outstanding impacts of epidemics on the
economy is its increasing burden of medical costs including private and non-private medical
MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 5
costs. The rise of the costs is attributed to the requirement of keeping disinfected environments,
taking prevention measures, and carrying out elementary research (Knobler et al., 2004). For
instance, Frangoul (2014) noted that 424 million ($708 million) has been spent on flu drug
Tamiflu to prepare for a flu outbreak by the United Kingdom (UK) government. The medical
costs are even far more expensive to tackle a pandemic which is an epidemic spreading and
having impacts on global scale. Frangoul also stated that the cost to the global economy of
SARS is estimated to have been $54 billion, according to the World Bank, while the organization
estimates that a 'severe flu pandemic' could cost over $3 trillion, nearly five percent of global
Economic consequences of epidemics also include foregone income due to either disease-
related morbidity or mortality. Forgone income is usually measured by the value of workdays
lost due to the illness; however, in circumstances of mortality, it is assessed by the capitalized
value of future lifetime earnings lost to the diseaserelated death, based on projected incomes for
different age groups and age-specific survival rates (Knobler, 2004, p. 94). This cost can be
significant to some epidemics. For example, the World Health Organization (2002) reported that
Conclusion
Epidemics stem from three main factors including an agent, host and environment.
Therefore, an epidemic can be stopped not only by medical treatment but also by changes in the
characteristics of the agent and host factors. These changes can be done by passing laws,
changing living conditions, educating the community and other communal, legitimate and
governmental actions (Baylis, n.d.). However, agents causing diseases continuously change to
survive, and the battle against epidemics is even becoming more difficult; for example, scientists
MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 6
have recently found bacteria that are completely resistant to treatment, also known as the
Epidemics have instantly been of great concern to human because of its causing
incalculable death and economic losses. As the situation keeps continuous and may get worse in
the future, human beings are trying to win the battle. Our insight into the future is possibly
getting out of the shadow of epidemics or facing endless increasing numbers of patients.
MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 7
References
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video-2-why-epidemics-happen
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015). Plague. Centers for Disease Control and
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http://www.cdc.gov/ophss/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section8.html
Deadly diseases: Epidemics throughout history. (2014, October). Cable News Network.
Epidemic. (n.d.). In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (9th ed.). Retrieved from
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Frangoul, A. (2014, February 5). Counting the costs of a global epidemic. CNBC News.
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MORTAL SHADOW OF EPIDEMICS 8
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World Economic Forum (2015). Managing the Risk and Impact of Future Epidemics: Options