Home » Posts tagged 'Infectious Disease'
Tag Archives: Infectious Disease
The Virtual Infectious Disease Project
By Ms. Elise Morgan, Faculty; Andria Bao, Shreeya, Sareddy, Madison Hoang, and Maddie Yearout, III Form
The Virtual Infectious Disease Project
Instructor Note from Ms. Morgan:
We have spent the last couple of weeks discussing how to be global citizens within our different communities. Our obligations to these communities change depending on situational factors such as time period, crises, and individual needs. During pandemics, often times our obligations to society and our communities directly oppose our civil liberties. Infectious diseases can easily become epidemics and evolve to pandemics when individuals do not understand the who, what, and why behind the transmission of the disease and when measures have not been put in place to control or to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. It is also important to note that when infectious diseases do become epidemics or pandemics, populations of people and regions of the world are differentially impacted; that is, confounding factors such as access to resources, the density of population, climate change, and women’s health impact how infectious diseases are spread, treated, and prevented in different regions of the world. In this project, you will explore how one confounding factor impacts the spread of a particular infectious disease in a specific region of the world.
Zombie Pathogens
By Andria Bao and Shreeya Sareddy, III Form
The West Nile Virus: The Minor Zoonotic Problem Without A Major Solution
By Anuoluwa Akibu, Jack Griffin, Sierra Petties, & Ben West, III Form; with mentors Ben Robb, V Form & Blaine Duffy, VI Form
The West Nile Virus: The Minor Zoonotic Problem Without A Major Solution
Abstract
In the information below, you will be able to take away a full understanding on the West Nile virus, and how it is transmitted zoonotically. West Nile virus (WNV) is a pathogen, specifically a flavivirus, and it is found in arthropods. West Nile virus infections are most common in temperate areas, between late summer and early fall, when mosquito activity is at it’s peak. Although many people become infected with WNV most people do not show symptoms. The few who do, mostly have minor symptoms like fever and headache. One percent of the people infected with the virus develop lethal symptoms that require immediate medical assistance. Most cases of West Nile virus come from mosquito bites. The mosquitoes infect humans and other animals which are called dead end hosts. Dead-end hosts cannot pass the disease on to another host. Birds however are different because they are amplifier hosts. That means they continue to spread the disease to mosquitoes have not received the virus yet. The only known treatment to West Nile virus at the moment is pain killers because scientists are still figuring out a solution. There are cures for animals and some in development for humans. There isn’t a practical solution to West Nile virus, but there have been prevention methods created. The main focus for many groups worldwide is of the disease by managing the mosquito population and observing the bird population to restrict the further spreading of the disease. Researcher(s): All; Editor(s): All (more…)
LEO 