Question

Has the focus on disease prevention and health promotion shifted from infectious diseases to chronic diseases? Why or why not?

Will a diversion in focus from infectious to chronic diseases leave the United States and other parts of the world at greater risk for pandemics or bioterrorism? Why or why not?

How do risk factors and prevention strategies differ from infectious and chronic diseases?

When thinking about chronic diseases, how do you perceive the purpose and utility of passive surveillance as an epidemiological tool? Explain with an example of a chronic disease surveillance system. Would you advocate the reporting of select chronic conditions? Why? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 1

Due to the progression of non communicable and chronic diseases the focus is shifted to the disease prevention and health promotion of the same. Chronic diseases are responsible for around 70% of deaths each year, and treating people with chronic disease accounts for most of our nation's health care cost.

It is important to remember that the risk of biological attack is very low and that, partly because viruses can mutate easily, the potential outbreak, epidemic or pandemic, and these include a plan for containment, open channels of communication, scientific research and knowledge sharing. In most cases involving a potential pathogen the news can appear for worse than the actual threat.

The risk factors for both infectious and chronic diseases are the same that is diet and lifestyle with a difference of family history/ hereditary cause of chronic diseases. The preventive strategies of both the conditions are almost same with difference of vaccination, hand and environmental hygiene, competing patients, antibiotic stewardship, case coordination with following evidence in infectious disease prevention.

The passive surveillance helps as a epidemiological tool by regular reporting of disease data by all institution that see patient and are part of a reporting network. Data of vaccine preventable disease are mainly reported but depending on the completeness and quality of data required it can be modified.

Behavioural risk factor surveillance system is the world's largest telephonic survey that collect data about US residents regarding the health related risk behavior, chronic health condition and use of prevention services.

The purpose of surveillance is to empower decision makers to lead and manage more effectively by providing timely, useful evidence. They are useful for targetting resources and evaluating programs. Unless the data is collected and reported correctly and timely.

Example: The HIV and severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemics underscored the critical role of surveillance in protecting individual nation's and global community.