Contagious Disease and Its Impact Term Paper

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, 2001). These two simple measures can drastically increase the subsequent spread of infectious disease throughout the country.

In Outbreak, the military institutes martial law to quarantine the infected populace in the town of Cedar Creek. Eventually, the military begins plans to bomb Cedar Creek in an attempt to eradicate the virus, which had thus far proven untenable. While the concept of the United States government destroying a small town and murdering its populace is likely superlative Hollywood movie-making, the institution of martial law is a realistic and effective approach toward preventing further spread (Yassi et al., 2001).

In addition to the non-medical measures which can be taken to deal with the spread of an infectious agent, there are several medical actions which could be utilized to treat infected invididuals, including antivirals, antibiotics, or vaccines (Yassi et al., 2001). For example, antivirals and vaccines are both being utilized in an effort to stymie the current Swine influenza outbreak around the world and within the United States (antibiotics have no effort on viruses and thus would only be used to bacterial outbreaks). However, the efficacy of these methods would be uncertain with a novel virus. Depending on the nature of the virus and its pathogenesis, the development of viruses may be difficult or unfeasible. Polio is an example of a disease which was effectively eradicated by the development of vaccines, whereas HIV continues to evade the efforts of researchers to develop vaccines (although some recent progress has been made) (Preston, 2009; Snowden, 2008; Yassi et al., 2001).

Within the movie Outbreak, researchers eventually cure infected individuals with the development of an antiserum by taking antibodies from an immune monkey (Petersen, 1995).

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This process, however, is scientifically inaccurate and implausible. Aside from the potentially deadly immunoreactivity from introducing monkey antibodies into humans, the development and creation of this antiserum occurs in the span of hours and effectively cures everyone. Even if infected individuals could be cured, they would likely experience severe organ damage as a result of the profuse hemorrhaging and vascular thromboses.

Potential for Pandemic

The risk for a virus like Ebola causing a pandemic is unlikely (Preston, 2009; Snowden, 2008). Ebola, and other hemmoraghic viruses, have relatively short incubation periods with rapid disease onset and highly conspicuous symptoms. It is plausible that an initial spread may occur, however, effective management by governance and medical authorities, along with concomitant hermitical actions by the populace, would rapidly slow and prevent further disease transmission (Preston, 2009; Snowden, 2008; Yassi et al., 2001). For a disease to spread with alacrity, it must be highly transmissible, exhibit long incubations or surreptitious symptoms, or some effective combination of the above (Preston, 2009). Thus, the widespread of disease requires facile transmission and general unawareness by individuals that they are infected. The current swine influenza pandemic, for example, is propagated by a high level of transmission and population of infected individuals who exhibit mild to moderate symptoms that may be consistent with a cold infection (Yassi et al., 2001). Although this does not preclude the danger that Ebola may mutate to become more suited toward furtive transmission and eventual widespread outbreak, ultimately, the danger of an Ebola pandemic is extremely low given its current traits.

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