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2 pages/≈550 words
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APA
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Health, Medicine, Nursing
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Case Study
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Diseases and Pandemic: Updating Definitions and Objectives of Investigation

Case Study Instructions:

Case study 3
After a disease has been defined—it’s defined, right?
Wrong.
In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a change to the way it reported human cases of H5N1 (avian influenza infection), establishing a webpage to provide what it termed “Monthly Risk Assessment Summaries.” Because of H5N1’s frequent occurrence in small numbers, the WHO decided to report as “Disease Outbreak News” only unusual or associated events with potential increased risks. At the same time, however, individual member states would be required to continue to report all sporadic cases of the disease along with novel influenza cases.
At the time of this writing, the WHO’s Global Alert and Response (GAR) system had received 960 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), with at least 350 of these resulting in death. The strain was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, with most cases occurring in Saudi Arabia but also in Oman and Jordan.
To date, the WHO is encouraging continued surveillance and asking for a careful review of any unusual patterns. There has been a link to contact with animals, particularly camels, and communities are being advised to not drink camel urine or raw camel milk or eat camel meat that has not been properly cooked. Those at high risk should avoid contact with animals as much as possible and practice regular hand and general hygiene measures. In addition to standard precautions, health care workers in these regions have been urged by the WHO to add droplet precautions as well, including contact and eye precautions, when working with potential MERS-CoV patients. In addition, the WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on MERS-CoV advised that medical delegations accompanying religious pilgrims intending to go on Umrah or Hajj should be versed in how to counsel pilgrims in prevention strategies, as well as in recognizing signs and symptoms. For those cases that are reported, the WHO confirms that “contact tracing of household contacts and health care contacts is ongoing for these cases” (GAR; Disease Outbreak News).
In related news, along with surveillance recommendations, the GAR has revised case definitions several times for classifying and reporting purposes, with these interim definition updates coming sometimes just days apart as novel cases appear.
Sources
Fukuda K. WHO Virtual Press Conference following the Sixth Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). World Health Organization (WHO). June 17, 2014. http://www(dot)who(dot)int/mediacentre/multimedia/WHOMERS17Julytranscriptfinal.pdf. Accessed January 17, 2015.
Global Alert and Response (GAR). Disease Outbreak News: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)–Oman. World Health Organization (WHO). 16 Jan 2015. http://www(dot)who(dot)int/csr/don/16-january-2015-mers-oman/en/. Accessed January 17, 2015.
Global Alert and Response (GAR). Revised case definition for reporting to WHO–Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: interim case definition as of 14 July 2014. World Health Organization (WHO). July 14, 2014. http://www(dot)who(dot)int/csr/disease/coronavirus_infections/case_definition/en/. Accessed January 17, 2015.
1. This article mentions that the case definition for MERS-CoV has been consistently updated over time. Why should this be necessary?
2. Based on the information given here, which type of surveillance system is the WHO most likely using for this outbreak?
3. What are the three objectives of any disease investigation?
4. Finally, a key aspect of this, and any, investigation is determining the agent’s infectivity, pathogenicity, and virulence. What is the difference among these three?

Case Study Sample Content Preview:

Diseases and Pandemic
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
February 27, 2023
1 The case definition for MERS-CoV has been consistently updated over time to ensure accurate identification and reporting of cases. This is important because novel diseases like MERS-CoV can change clinical features and may not be easily identifiable initially. Regular updates to the case definition can help health officials better understand the disease and its symptoms, leading to improved surveillance and control measures (McCotter, 2019). Additionally, consistent updates allow for more accurate data comparisons over time, enabling researchers to identify trends and patterns that may be useful in developing effective interventions (Global Alert and Response, 2014).
An example of why regular updates to case definitions are necessary can be seen in the case of COVID-19. When the disease emerged in late 2019, its clinical features and symptoms were not well understood, and it was initially identified based on a narrow set of criteria. As more cases were reported, however, health officials realized that the disease could present in a broader range of ways, and additional symptoms were added to the case definition. For example, early on, fever and cough were the primary symptoms used to diagnose COVID-19. As more was learned about the disease, additional symptoms like loss of taste and smell were added. Regular updates to the case definition have helped health officials better track the disease, identify new cases more accurately, and respond more effectively to outbreaks (Fukuda, 2014).
2 Based on the information, the WHO is most likely using an active surveillance system for the MERS-CoV outbreak. This type of system involves ongoing, systematic efforts to identify cases of the disease through laboratory testing, contact tracing, and monitoring of clinical data (Braithwaite et al., 2020). Active surveillance is crucial for diseases like MERS-CoV with low incidence rates and may not be easily identified through passive reporting alone.
3 The three objectives of any disease investigation are to identify the disease, determine its cause, and implement control measures. Disease investigations involve a thorough examination of the clinical features of the disease, as well as its epidemiological characteristics, in order to identify risk factors and potential sources of transmission. Once the cause of the disease is identified, control measures can be implemented to prevent further spread and mitigate the outbreak's impact.
Let’s take, for example, the response done during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, public health off...
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