International Humanitarian Action by Hans-Joachim Heintze & Pierre Thielbörger

Author:Hans-Joachim Heintze & Pierre Thielbörger
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

8 Communicable Diseases and Outbreak Control

Jonas Torp Ohlsen and Siri Tellier

8.1 Concepts and Baseline Situation

Infectious diseases are caused by a pathogen (prion, virus, bacteria, fungus, parasite). The route of infection varies—for instance, directly from one individual to another (for example, measles), indirectly through a vector (for example, malaria) or through the soil (for example, tetanus). The terms ‘contagious’, ‘communicable’ and ‘infectious’ are at times used interchangeably. However, in the humanitarian action framework (such as the Sphere Project), it is more common to use the term ‘communicable’ disease (CD), which we shall also apply throughout this chapter.

Globally, deaths due to communicable disease have declined over the last two decades and now constitute less than 20% of total deaths.78 Progress has been particularly rapid for children under five, who were historically the group with the highest death rates. The total number of deaths of children under five has dropped from 12.4 million in 1990 (U5M close to 20%) to less than 6 million in 2015 (U5M less than 5%).79 The main killers of children used to be diarrhoeal diseases, measles and pneumonia, with under-nutrition being a contributing factor.

Improved nutrition, water and sanitation, increased levels of vaccination, as well as general improvements in living standards and health services, have reduced both the number of cases of these diseases and also their case fatality rates. The neonate age group of children has made the least progress, with pre-term birth and low birthweight remaining problematic, as they are linked to the more complex issues involved in antenatal and obstetric care.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.