Global Pandemics Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Public health

Public Health Assignment 

Introduction on Global Pandemics 

With the rapid changes in human behaviour and lifestyle, it has caused a rapid increase in epidemics and pandemics globally. Globally due to the rise in the spread of the infectious disease and also infecting the large set of the population globally. For example, the spread of the Swine Flu which originated in Mexico and eventually got spread to the United States, eventually killed and infecting more than thousands to lakhs (White, 2018). The same set of examples can be observed in the spread of the Avian flu in 2006, to the Hong Kong Flu in 1968 to the recent COVID-19 spread in 2019 which has led to the death of the lakhs and thousands getting infected without having any respite and cure (Houghton, 2019).

Due to the global pandemic, more than the fear of the deaths, the main problem lies in the economies getting affected and the business getting suffered, leading to the scarcity of goods and causing other problems. For example, due to the Spanish Flu in 1968, the mortality rate was 8% and it is affecting the global economies and causing the business to shut down (Pieri, 2019). More than the mortality rate, the major shut down operations has caused the rapid rise of the famine and the fear of scarcity, causing more pressure on the economies (Ren, 2018). The purpose of the essay is to understand the rapid rise of Global Pandemics and the history behind them through the use of existing literature. Moreover, through the existing research, possible ways to prevent them will also be discussed.

Literature Review on Global Pandemics 

Global Pandemics has been experienced since ages and due to the novel strains of influenza, there is a rapid threat that can impact the human. The pandemics can cause more than the illness, can lead to death, and even cause a disruption. Peterman (2020) in the literature has provided four influenza pandemics that have existed past centuries. These have eventually led to more innovation in the research and development and global collaboration to eradicate the diseases. Due to the global advances in medicine and also research-based evidence in epidemiology, it has helped to control the pandemics largely. As per the past influenza pandemics, there has been a rapid involvement that has helped to create a response to the virus. Jamal (2020) has mentioned in academics, that the pandemic influenza can also help to overcome the consequence faced by human development and it can help to overcome any problematic challenges faced due to the outbreaks. It can be helpful to identify the shifts in global landscapes. Another factual finding, due to the pandemic spread, might trigger the recession cycle in the economy ultimately leading to depression as the closing of the business leads to loss of unemployment and a decrease in the consumer and the producer spending. All this leads to impacting the GDP of the economy and lowering the multiplier impact.

Background Info of Pandemics

Hacohen (2019) has given evidence that in the history of some of the pandemic spread is Flu Pandemic (1889-1890) which has led to the death of the 1 million during that time. Also known as the “Asiatic Flu” or “Russian Flu” which have caused a strain leading to the outbreak of the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2, and it has been seen as the outbreak of the further improved flu called as the Influenza A virus subtype H3N8. It was observed as the outbreak during May 1889 and it infected the three separate locations such as the Bukhara in Central Asia (Turkestan), along with the Athabasca in Canada, and lastly Greenland. Due to the rising population, it has caused the flu spread, and due to travel and tourists, it has caused the situation to turn into Pandemic.

Greenaway (2017) has identified that the flue was a result of the epidemic outbreak of the bacteria. The same was again experienced in 1918 which has resulted in the death toll of the (20-50 million) and it lasted till 1920 which was one of the most disturbing outbreaks of influenza infecting mullions and also causing a death toll of the 20 – 50 million people. Hacohen (2018) has identified in the journal that from the 500 million people who were infected had a mortality rate of 10% to 20% and giving rise to the 25 million deaths during the first 25 weeks. During this phase, the pandemic spread not only killed the young children, the elderly and the immune weakened people but it had also impacted the healthy immune adults.

Greenaway (2017) has mentioned the Asian flu (1956-1958) which caused the death of more than 2 million lives. It was the era of the Influenza A of the H2N2 subtype, which started in China in 1956 and the outbreak was till 1958. As China has been a popular Asian economy, it has caused the spread of the disease in Singapore, Hong Kong, and even in the United States. Currently, HIV/AIDS pandemic was experienced which lasted till at its peak of the (20005-2012) resulting in the death of over 36million. It emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976 and eventually spread to the 36 million people since 1981. Evans, 2018 has provided evidence that there are approximately 31 and 35 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and there has been approximately 5% of the population that has been infected So far the treatments, medicines and the research has helped to save some lives, but the rate of control is less than the infection spread. At present, the world is facing the COVID 19 outbreak, which started in December 2019 and so far the death toll is reported of 1 lakh, but it is still counting, as every day more than thousands are dying at a rapid rate.

History Behind Pandemics

Most of the pandemics spread have been due to the humans and how it has caused a human-to-human transmission, along with causing an outbreak, without any effective remedial measures.

Elbe (2018) mentioned that the pandemic is known as the epidemic of disease which covers the large placed and even can infect the multiple continents leading to substantial population getting infected and even causing deaths. Corless (2018) has mentioned in his history the pandemic diseases have also an infected people occurrence of seasonal influenza and there has been widespread globally.

There have been widespread disease pandemics, for example, smallpox, and tuberculosis which caused millions to die. The devastating pandemics were observed as the Black Death (called the Plague), causing 75–200 million people to die in between the (1346-1353) era. Subsequently other pandemics origins have been 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) which has caused millions to die and in the 2009 influenza pandemic (H1N1) which has infected thousands which have infected the economies. Al this has been a novel virus spread and some of the history pandemics are summarized in the below table, which is the H1N1 Spanish flu (1918), the case of the H2N2 Asian flu (1957), the spread of the 14 H3N2 Hong Kong flu (1968), and finally the H1N1 swine flu (2009).

Source (Houghton, 2019)

How Did Pandemics Begin?

Greenaway (2017) describes pandemics occur in the six-stages classified as the humans to the human spread and the transmission can occur. These can be the infecting animals passing to the people, the people to people transmission, and the people to the community transfer, the community to the country transfer and finally the country to the country spread. As such, there is no such timeline of the spread and an outbreak can be spread at no time. To have the control and the widespread combat strategies it is important to plan horizontal or vertical intervention (Legg, 2019).

What Can Be Done to Prevent Pandemics?

Due to the approach of the infectious disease prevention, and having an effective response to the outbreaks, the pandemics spread has been limited to the certain human age groups, having a set behaviour, part of the demographics, and experiencing high mobility causing a threat of the pandemic emergence and also eventually causing a rapid global disease transmission. The spread can be limited to awareness and timely action. Adalja (2019) has mentioned the importance of the preparedness and devising a plan that can help to overcome the episodes of the heightened risk. Subsequently, it would help to control the pandemic experience that can help to overcome the progress and persisting challenges. Another way to control and combat is through the controlling of the timing and severity that can help to overcome the future pandemics. The adoption of flexible policies can help to control and also enact as the emergencies to be developed (Adalja, 2019).

How to Act During a Pandemic?

Source (Houghton, 2019)

Chowdhury (2017) has identified the importance to note how to manage the infectious disease outbreak and how to control the spread at its peak which is also called the “flattening the epidemic curve". The peak can be overcome through the timely intervention of the vaccine and treatment and through the non-pharmaceutical interventions that can help to control the outbreak. Another management way is to create awareness, have personal preventive measures, aim for the community measures and timely controlling the community engagement to prevent the outbreak. Lastly through suppression such as self-quarantine, and attaining a long-term non-pharmaceutical intervention (Evans, 2018). In 2016, as per the Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework has estimated the pandemic spread of the economy cost about $6 trillion and the additional spending of the $4.5 billion annually to prevent and combat the spread of the pandemic outbreak (Adalja, 2018).

Conclusion on Global Pandemics 

To conclude, the spread of pandemics globally can be devastating for the rapid population but also the overall economy. The main gaps in the literature are the lack of the research and also not considering some of the factual findings related to the Global Pandemics. Some of the literature misses out to draw a reoccurring and the growing relevance of the topic. The identified set behavior, and understanding of the demographics, and high mobility causing a threat of the pandemic emergence is not briefly identified. The spread can be limited to awareness and timely action. Global Pandemics has been experienced since ages and due to the novel strains of influenza, there is a rapid threat that can impact the human. The pandemics can cause more than the illness, can lead to death, and even cause a disruption. Due to the global pandemic, more than the fear of the deaths, the main problem lies in the economies getting affected and the business getting suffered, leading to the scarcity of goods and causing other problems. It can be helpful to identify the shifts in global landscapes.

Another factual finding, due to the pandemic spread, might trigger the recession cycle in the economy ultimately leading to depression as the closing of the business leads to loss of unemployment and a decrease in the consumer and the producer spending. As per the past influenza pandemics, there has been a rapid involvement that has helped to create a response to the virus. The pandemic influenza can also help to overcome the consequence faced by human development and it can help to overcome any problematic challenges faced due to the outbreaks. Subsequently, it would help to control the pandemic experience that can help to overcome the progress and persisting challenges. Substantial ways to control and combat is through the controlling of the timing and severity that can help to overcome the future pandemics. The adoption of flexible policies can help to control and also enact as the emergencies to be developed.

References for Global Pandemics 

Adalja, A. A., Watson, M., Toner, E. S., Cicero, A., & Inglesby, T. V. (2019). Characteristics of microbes most likely to cause pandemics and global catastrophes. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 424, 1-20.

Chowdhury, F. R., Nur, Z., Hassan, N., von Seidlein, L., & Dunachie, S. (2017). Pandemics, pathogenicity and changing molecular epidemiology of cholera in the era of global warming. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 16(1), 10.

Corless, I. B., Nardi, D., Milstead, J. A., Larson, E., Nokes, K. M., Ortega, S., ... & Woith, W. (2018). Expanding nursing's role in responding to global pandemics 5/14/2018. Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 412-415.

The Elbe, S. (2018). Pandemics, pills, and politics: governing global health security. US: JHU Press.

Evans, A. L. (2018). Confronting global pandemics: Responding to a State's refusal of international assistance in a pandemic. Connecticut Journal of International Law, 34, 1.

Greenaway, C., & Gushulak, B. D. (2017). Pandemics, migration, and global health security. In Handbook on migration and security. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hacohen, A., Cohen, R., Efroni, S., Barzel, B., & Bachelet, I. (2019). Digitizable therapeutics for decentralized mitigation of global pandemics. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-15.

Hacohen, A., Cohen, R., Efroni, S., Barzel, B., & Bachelet, I. (2018). Digital therapeutics for a distributed response to global pandemics. BioRxiv, 444851.

Houghton, F. (2019). Geography, global pandemics & air travel: Faster, fuller, further & more frequent. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 12(3), 448.

Legg, J. P., Wosula, E., Shirima, R., Yabeja, J., Ceasar, G., Mrisho, L., ... & Delaquis, E. (2019). Mitigating cassava virus pandemics in an increasingly connected global environment: lessons from the last 30 years. Retrieved from https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/106263/IPVE_abstract%202019_LeggEtAl.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Jamal, T., & Budke, C. (2020). Tourism in a world with pandemics: local-global responsibility and action. Journal of Tourism Futures. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JTF-02-2020-0014/full/pdf?title=tourism-in-a-world-with-pandemics-local-global-responsibility-and-action

Peterman, A., Potts, A., O’Donnell, M., Thompson, K., Shah, N., Oertelt-Prigione, S., & van Gelder, N. (2020). Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children. Center for Global Development Working Paper (in press). Retrieved from https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/pandemics-and-vawg-april2.pdf

Pieri, E. (2019). Media Framing and the Threat of Global Pandemics: The Ebola Crisis in UK Media and Policy Response. Sociological Research Online, 24(1), 73-92.

Ren, R. Q., Zhou, L., & Ni, D. X. (2018). An overview of the history of global influenza pandemics. Zhonghua Liu xing bing xue za zhi= Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi, 39(8), 1021-1027.

Taylor, S. (2019). The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease. UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

White, A. I. (2018). Global Risks, Divergent Pandemics: Contrasting Responses to Bubonic Plague and Smallpox in 1901 Cape Town. Social Science History, 42(1), 135-158.

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