Influenza Disease Outbreak

Influenza Disease Outbreak

            Influenza is an airborne disease, which attacks the respiratory system. Thishighly contagious disease is transmitted through coughing, sneezing, or talking with an infected person. The 1918 influenza outbreak was considered a pandemic and was known as the Spanish flu, which infected one-third of the Earth’s population. By the time it subsided in 1920, the mortality rate had risen to millionsof deaths. The 1928 pandemic was caused by an H1N1 virus,which had genes of avian origin.

Influenza pandemic was formally known as the Spanish flu, although there was nothing related to ‘Spanish,” only that people thought it originated from Spain where the king was also infected. The disease was first reported in the USA by March 1918. By July, Poland confirmed several cases of the Spanish flu, later in Massachusettshad reported similar instances in September the same year (Medina 23). In January 1919, Australia had cases of Influenza, and throughout the same year, the outbreak reached to India, New Zealand, Samoa, among many nations across the globe. Other outbreaks were reported in Europe, Africa, and Russia, however, the cases declined later in the 1920s.

The disease was first reported in Kansas, United States, by March 1918, then other cases in Europe, some parts of Asia, and rapidly spread around the globe. In the United States, influenza pandemic was noted in Spring among the military men in Kansas. By September, 195,000 Americans died,the majority being the military personnel for the World War I (Medina34). Also,more cases were reported at Camp Devens, a military base in Massachusetts. At the beginning of 1919, Australia reported its first case and swept tens of thousands of people. The disease spread to Great Britain where 228,000 people died, Japan was next and recorded deaths of 400,000people..

The epidemiological information suggested that the H1N1 virus of the influenza pandemic had an antigenically hemagglutinin, whichaffected humans and swine. The phylogenetic analyses showed that the causative ofthe H1N1 virus was derived from an avian influenza bacterium before the start of the pandemic (Harvey et al., 14). Epidemic mortality from the epidemic was noted as all-cause deaths, which implies that people died after transmitting the infection. At the beginning of the pandemic, most deaths occurred to people aged more than 65 years,and by February, those aged 15-24 and 25-44 years recorded the highest death rates (Lipsitchet al., 11). Infections increased the mortality rate among the deployed military personnel. Soldiers who got wounded during the war were prone to subsequent infections and eventually died. Also, people with wider chests, a sign of higher vital lung capacity, recorded higher mortality rates (Lipsitchet al., 13). Pre-pandemic hospitalization for chronic conditions was another risk factor that contributed to the death rates in 1918.

An outbreak of the influenza disease today would have dire consequences on the social setting of communities. Influenza poses a risk to children under the age of 2 years, therefore, schools would close in case of an outbreak. Families of such children would also contract the disease from interactions, while hospitals would be crowded. Economic impacts would include less productivity in workplaces and direct costs of medical resources to be provided, such as laboratory investigations and hospitalization of the sick would increase. Besides, businesseswould close down as fear of infection spreads,and most workers being infected will leave industries to seek medical attention or hospitalizations.

Citizens can report any suspicious disease outbreaks of waterborne, food, or enteric origin to the local, state, or territorial health departments. Thelocal and state health departments report to cases of the outbreak of Influenza to theCentersfor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Guerra 28). Besides, people would contact any of the suspected outbreaks to the centers or through the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) website. After the cases have been reported, the CDC establishes the kind of disease, epidemiological information, and analysesevidence about the patients and the situation.

All health departments in a country can partner with agriculture and environment sectors to identify priority zoonotic diseases, which need national attention. These sectors can assess the nature of zoonotic diseases as they are major infections that could cause influenza outbreaks. The community can also establish proper response mechanisms in case of reports about an outbreak. This mechanismincludes setting health surveillance systems, conduct laboratory research, and training of the health workforce to establish the epidemiology of an outbreak (Guerra 37). Also, the general public should be informed case of any outbreaks of influenza and prevention measures against such diseases.Besides, the community should engagepeople to get vaccinations against deadly diseases, such as poliomyelitis, measles, and chickenpox. Precautions at a personal level towards the prevention of the outbreak involve maintaining daily hygiene in the environment.Similarly, maintaining food preservation and proper storage will reduce the chances of food-related disease outbreaks. In case of health concerns in particular localities, people should avoid traveling to areas where outbreaks are reported. Finally, practicing safe sex will prevent sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS from one person to another.

The influenza outbreak in Benton has affected most operations and systems of the city. Benton has a total number of 1,412,000 residents, where 1435 people are infected, and 86 are reported dead after the outbreak (Guerra 37). The population at Benton, who were at risk of influenza infection, reached 60,620, however, 7,700 were immunized. During the outbreak, health care was available to all people, but influenza health care was not provided to the majority of the patients. Doctors were availed at moderate levels to deal with the outbreak and ensure the spread of the disease was controlled.

The community advocacy in Benton city is to create awareness of the influenza disease and how it is prevented. By educating the public on the disease, intervention measures are established, such as administering vaccinations to all adults and children. The authorities and health officials can partner to promote vaccination recommendations throughout the health centers within the city.Also, constant assessment of the influenza prevention strategies should be followed up to ensure people are aware of the safety and vaccination effectiveness.

Emergency response in Benton City in case of an outbreak will begin by isolation of the suspected sick people, away from the general public. This isolation will help in avoiding secondary infections among the residents. Emergency attention to the infected is then raised to avail the doctors, and all the necessary resources to help manage the crisis. The authorities can give travel advisories to people outside the city, so they do not contract the disease from the areas. Finally, people not infected by the epidemic should be advised on health hygiene measures.

Communicable diseases reported in Benton City are worked on immediately by the health care providers. The health facilities provide screening for gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV, and further treatment is provided (Guerra 41).The communicable disease program is responsible for controlling the rate of infectious diseases. Health nurses investigate the reports on such diseases and outline the diagnosis and treatment to prevent the spread of the disease to other residents. Statistical information of Benton City’s Influenza cases, which were reported is as follows;

Table 1: Benton City Influenza population infected and deceased persons.

Graph 1: Benton City Influenza population infected and deceased persons.

Table 2: Staffing during the influenza outbreak in Benton

Graph 2: Staffing during the influenza outbreak in Benton

Table 3: Summary of patients’ conditions

Graph 3: Summary of patients’ conditions

In conclusion, the influenza outbreak in 1918 was a global pandemic, which resulted in the death of millions of people. The outbreak began among the military personnel in the United States and spread fast to Great Britain and other Asian countries. This H1N1 virus was established as the causative epidemiological agent of the influenza outbreak. In Benton City, Influenza led to many deaths of people. Future prevention measures against the effects of such outbreaks include patient and community strategies to maintain hygiene. Also, emergency response actions, such as reporting any case of an epidemic, are implemented by the residents to local authorities. Besides, maintaining health standards for communicable diseases helps to control future infections or an outbreak.

Works cited

Guerra, Antonio Beitia. Economic Assessment of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak   in Washington and Benton Counties in Arkansas. University of Arkansas, 2017.

Harvey William T., et al. “Identification of low-and high-impact hemagglutinin amino acid           substitutions that drive antigenic drift of influenza A (H1N1) viruses.” PLoS pathogens 12.4 (2016).

Lipsitch, Marc, et al. “Science forum: Viral factors in influenza pandemic risk         assessment.” Elife 5 (2016): e18491.

Medina, Rafael A. “1918 influenza virus: 100 years on, are we prepared against the next   influenza pandemic?.” Nature Reviews Microbiology 16.2 (2018): 61.