Disease_in_the_News

[Please review the sample paper in the Tutorials & Guides section of the Center for Writing Excellence for title page and header formatting guidelines.] Disease in the News The Bird Flu Lisa M. Gardner August 17, 2010 HCS 330 Rosita Rodriguez 1250-1500 [Repeat title on the first text page] There are millions and millions of news articles published about diseases around the world. The media attention that the “bird flu” has caused in the past decade made it of interest to research. The Bird (to Human) Flu Epidemic- If or when' Written by Scott C. Ratzan, MD [Use abbreviations only after writing the term or name in full, with the abbreviation in parentheses—e.g., Return on Investment (ROI), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).] was an interesting peer reviewed article journal about the bird flu. What is the name of the journal' Scott C. Ratzan, MD Scott C. Ratzan is Vice President of Global Health and Government Affairs and Policy for Johnson & Johnson as well as Editor-In-Chief for the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. What are his academic credentials' Mr. Ratzan has been with the Johnson & Johnson Company since 2002 and is responsible for Government Affairs and Policy issues related to pharmaceuticals in Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions as well as in global health initiatives such as HIV. Previously Mr. Ratzan was a Senior Technical advisor for the Bureau of Global Health at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where he developed the global health strategy for United States funded efforts in 65 countries. Ratzan has published articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times and in academic journals. He is also a published author of several medical and health related books. Additionally, Ratzan served on advisory committees for the World Health Organization (WHO), the Institute of Medicine Committees, and has worked in various federal agencies and international health organizations. Ratzan received his MD from the University of Southern California, MPA from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and MA from Emerson College (Research America, 2010). I think that some may consider Scott Ratzan biased because of his pharmaceutical affiliation with the Johnson & Johnson Company. The article was not written biased but from the authors medical background, education, and standpoint. [Double space throughout your essay.] The Bird (to Human) Flu Epidemic- If or When' The article was written in the Journal of Health Communication in 2006, eight years after the first child died in Hong Kong from the Bird Flu. Aviation Influenza (bird flu), became known in the medical field as H5N1. According to the article fewer than one hundred fifty people have caught the bird flu directly from birds (as of 2005) and an unknown number of people have caught the flu from other people. “The HRN1viruses have been known to infect birds, pigs, housecats, tigers, and leopards. The virus has killed millions of poultry and at least 57 people in outbreaks in Asia since late 2003. Direct human to human cases have yet to be confirmed with any certainty. Currently, this is not a problem for human health (Ratzan, 2006). Even though the media has reported numbers of deaths causing public panic and increased vaccinations. Ratzan believes that the media attention is more political than scientific. “While many estimates of the potential death toll are wide-ranging and chilling, the current response may be more political than scientific (Ratzan, 2006). The article continues to discuss how to respond if such a pandemic were to occur relating to the Bird Flu. “Today, there are interventions that can prevent deaths on a widespread scale. Is this a one sentence paragraph' However, one underlying question is whether the world is prepared to address such a pandemic. It would take four to six months to produce vaccines on the scale needed to tackle influenza. Some public health experts have been able to convince governments to stockpile vaccines against the strain of bird flu that is currently circulating, but there is no guarantee that this vaccine will convey enough protection against any human strain that might emerge (Ratzan, 2006). Why is this paragraph misaligned' Ratzan states that if there were outbreak vaccines and quarantining would be needed to stop the spread of the virus from person to person and these actions would have to be done within three weeks of the first outbreak of the bird flu. The author ends the article discussing communication in health care and how this affects epidemics such as SARS [Use abbreviations only after writing the term or name in full, with the abbreviation in parentheses—e.g., Return on Investment (ROI), Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).] and the Bird Flu. “Finally, if we do not communicate the reality and value of public health investment, we will pay the price for over-investing resources to address risks that have multiple sources for intervention and less actual risk to human health (e.g., bioterrorism) while neglecting the likelier reality of an infectious (e.g., HIV=AIDS) or silent non-communicable disease pandemic (e.g., tobacco related diseases) that could kill more people. It is incumbent to strengthen national responses, international coordination and appropriate medicine development and availability. We must hope that governments and policymakers empowered to protect their citizens will proportionately Address the rights of citizens with measures for public health protection” (Ratzan, 2006). [Direct quotations greater than 40 words must be blocked and indented. Block quotations do not have quotation marks (except those already included in the source material).] Claims There were numerous claims made about the Bird Flu in this article. “It poses a big problem for the poultry industry. Yet this is not a human flu outbreak, epidemic or pandemic; fewer than one hundred fifty people are believed to have caught H5N1 directly from birds (as of December 2005), and an unknown number of people are thought to have caught it from other people” (Ratzan, 2006 [Include a page number or paragraph number in the in-text citation for a direct quotation.]). According to Ratzan, the Bird Flu is not as wide spread in humans as the health community has predicted, but has affected birds, pigs, house cats, and other animals primarily. The article goes on to claim that the media has projected reports that this is an epidemic for human health but statistics contradict these statements in his opinion. Additionally there are several occurrences of pandemic influenza viruses and that the avian flu may proceed into one that is more severe or deadly. “The recent strain of avian influenza (H5N1; bird flu) that is currently endemic in Asia has just the characteristics to be the first pandemic of the 21st Century” (Ratzan, 2006). National or Global Perspectives In response to the avian flu and the possibility of a pandemic outbreak of this virus several countries have taken precautions to reduce the risk of an epidemic. “The 2005 World Health Assembly recently underlined the importance of influenza pandemic preparedness and response by adopting a resolution calling on all 192 Member States to develop and implement national plans for pandemic-influenza preparedness and response that focus on limiting the health impact and economic and social disruption” ( Ratzan, 2006). Though there are preventions and precautions to that the country has been educated to take against such an epidemic is it questionable whether or not the world is prepared to address such a pandemic. “It would take four to six months to produce vaccines on the scale needed to tackle influenza. Some public health experts have been able to convince governments to stockpile vaccines against the strain of bird flu that is currently circulating, but there is no guarantee that this vaccine will convey enough protection against any human strain that might emerge” ( Ratzan, 2006). Though there are precautions being taken only time will tell if society is ready to take on the bird flu. Supporting Evidence Though the bird flu poses a big threat to the poultry industry, it has yet been proven statistically to show a pandemic effect on humans. “Fewer than one hundred fifty people are believed to have caught H5N1 directly from birds (as of December 2005), and an unknown number of people are thought to have caught it from other people. This virus has killed millions of poultry and at least 57 people in outbreaks in Asia since late 2003. Direct human cases have yet to be confirmed with any certainty. Currently, this is not a problem for human health” (Ratzan, 2006). The lack of any real statistics showing the number of human to human infections limits the accuracy of how wide spread the bird flu actually is in the nation. Conclusion The bird flu has affected millions of poultry, but the cases of birds directly infected humans has been relatively small and the number of human to human infections are yet unknown. At the time the article was written the author did not see the bird flu as a pandemic, but cautioned countries should be prepared in case there was such a wide spread outbreak to occur. “ The latest flu case provides opportunity for health communicators to not only present the facts and arguments for prudent health policy by governments, but also to communicate the risk of doing nothing, and preparing the public for appropriate measures to limit the spread of disease should the pandemic arise” ( Ratzan, 2006). Public awareness and government involvement are the only sure way to combat the possibility of a widespread outbreak of the avian flu. Reference [You may want to access the Reference and Citation Generator from the Center for Writing Excellence homepage. This easy-to-use online tool will help you create properly formatted reference entries.] Ratzan, S. (2006). The bird (to human) flu epidemic--if or when'. Journal Of Health Communication, 11(2), 131-132. Retrieved August 16, 2010 from MEDLINE with Full Text database.  Research American. (2010). Ambassador Ratzan Bio. Retrieved August 16, 2010 from http://www.researchamerica.org/bio_ratzan