Public Health Strategies to Prevent Disease. HW: page 111 #1, 8-10, 14, 16

Transcription

1 Public Health Strategies to Prevent Disease HW: page 111 #1, 8-10, 14, 16

2 The Origin of Vaccines Smallpox is a highly contagious viral disease that results in a rash of blisters. This disease has now been eradicated through the use of vaccines.

3 The Origin of Vaccines The smallpox vaccine is the first documented use of vaccination to prevent disease. When smallpox was prevalent, it was known that those to survive infection with the disease were now immune. It was also rumoured that those who worked closely with cows could contract a milder form of the disease known as cowpox. However, they also became immune to smallpox.

4 Edward Jenner Edward Jenner is credited with being the father of vaccination due to his documentation of his famous experiment with James Phipps.

5 Edward Jenner Jenner inoculated Phipps with cowpox by taking pus from an individual infected with cowpox and inserting it into an incision in Phipps arm. This resulted in Phipps falling ill with the mild cowpox. Subsequently, Jenner repeated the procedure on Phipps but with pus from an individual with smallpox. However, Phipps did not fall ill with smallpox.

6 Edward Jenner To further prove his method, he experimented on several other children, including his own infant son. When proved successful, he published his work and coined the term vaccine from the Latin word for cow (vacca)

7 Public Health Strategies With continued scientific research into the health of the human body, many methods to maintain health have been discovered. Many of these discoveries have been incorporated into public health strategies.

8 Public Health Strategies Public health strategies usually fall into the categories of immunization, healthy lifestyles, education, and screening services.

9 Immunization Immunization involves vaccination to prevent disease.

10 Immunization In Ontario, several vaccines are required by law for school aged children and the cost of most common vaccines are covered by the government health care plan.

11 Immunization Vaccinations prevent disease in the individual but also benefit society as a whole. Wide spread vaccination provides herd immunity which contains spread of disease and also plays a role in protecting immune compromised individuals.

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14 Healthy Lifestyles Recall: Cancer is the result of abnormal cell growth and uncontrolled cell division which are caused by mutations DNA.

15 Healthy Lifestyles Certain external factors are known to be cancer causing such as exposure to cigarette smoke or exposure to UV radiation.

16 Healthy Lifestyles Due to public health programs, the dangers of smoking and sun exposure are now widely known. In Ontario, smoking in many public places is prohibited. Strategies to reduce sun exposure are widely promoted.

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18 Healthy Lifestyles Another public health issue in Ontario is the West Nile virus which is spread through mosquitoes.

19 Healthy Lifestyles There is no vaccine against the West Nile virus so the main method of prevention is through limiting exposure to mosquitoes. Methods include: Avoiding the outdoors during the hours of dusk and dawn Removal of mosquito breeding grounds such as standing water Use of insect repellent Wearing light colour clothing that covers exposed skin

20 Education Access to information and education are key components of public health strategies. Without these public education programs, many individuals would fail to follow healthy lifestyle practices due to lack of awareness or knowledge about certain topics.

21 Education For example, sex education is important for many reasons including the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and diseases. They can also help prevent unplanned pregnancy.

22 Education Another example would be nutrition education which can help people make healthier choices in terms of food.

23 Screening Services Many health issues can be caught in their early stages through early detection from screening.

24 Screening Services For example, in Ontario, several methods of cancer screening are currently employed. Pap tests for women to screen for cervical cancer Mammograms and breast examinations to screen for breast cancer Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) to test for colon cancer in adults over 50

25 Screening Services Another type of screening service that is available is DNA screening. Certain health issues are known to have a genetic component which is coded for in a person s DNA.

26 Screening Services For example, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes involved in tumour suppression. Mutations in these genes have shown increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

27 Screening Services Due to this correlation, individuals that have a family history of breast cancer can choose to screen their DNA for these mutations. However, this is controversial as presence of the mutated version of the gene does not guarantee development of cancer.