Infectious Diseases essay

Examples of infectious diseases include malaria, tuberculosis, common cold, diarrhea, cholera, influenza, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, B & C, dengue fever, Zika fever and rubella among others. Therefore, infectious sicknesses constitute one of the most severe causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Epidemiology, Outbreak, Incidence and Prevalence of Infectious Diseases The epidemiology of infectious diseases involves the process through which these infections occur and spread to the human population as well as the various control interventions related to a particular condition. The epidemiological search involves the assessment of its spread, the mode of transmission with regard to the infectious agent as well as the susceptible hosts. There are different modes of transmission depending on a specific type of infection. As a result, the incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases reach a point high during outbreaks.

Role of Nursing in Epidemiology Epidemiology plays a leading role in the planning, formulation and implementation of various health policies. Whitehead (2000) opines that epidemiology helps in the provision of nursing evidence through which health care policies are founded. In this case, nursing practitioners determine appropriate nursing practices as well as promote the requisite awareness as far as critical health complications, such as infectious diseases, are concerned. Besides, nurses are caregivers who help with the administration of various medical interventions, including screening undiagnosed conditions and outreach services to identify populations in need of nursing care. To start with, immunization is a common evidence-based practice critical in eliminating outbreaks and prevalence of infectious infections. According to Schechter et al. (2007), immunization is a cost-effective strategy that saves millions of lives annually.