These mosquito-borne pathogens include yellow fever, West Nile viruses, Dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and Zika virus, all of which can infect humans, and all of which can cause large-scale illnesses and even deaths (Flaviviridae, 2016). At present, there is no known vaccine or medicine for treating the Zika virus and there have been reports of Zika virus outbreaks all over the world, including most especially Africa and Asia but even on remote islands and the continental United States in Miami-Dade County, Florida as well (Questions about Zika, 2016). In order to determine the facts about the… Continue Reading...
have incubation periods, making the development of accurate data difficult. Moreover, some infectious diseases like West Nile virus are seasonal, requiring the epidemiologist to track the data over time within the same community. The term “outbreak” can be used to describe population anomalies, a number of cases that significantly exceeds the norm for that same period of time in that same geographic area.
6.3. What constitutes an official “case” is one of the central questions in epidemiology, and the answer will vary depending on the disease. Operationalized definitions of the disease are critical for accurate data, and evidence-based responses to outbreaks. Case definitions are offered… Continue Reading...
