Current Issues with Communicable Diseases
Part 1 Whooping Cough is a disease that doctors may no longer recognize because it has become so rare. Alarms went off in California in the autumn of 2011 when nine infants died from the disease. There have been outbreaks of other preventable diseases such as a 2013 mumps outbreak in Monmouth County New Jersey, and a 2015 measles outbreak at Disneyland in California. In 275 words, please discuss a recent outbreak. Include two scholarly references (using APA formatting and style) to guide your discussion. No abstract

In January 2018, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that an outbreak of measles in Serbia had occurred and issued a warning for Americans contemplating travel there (Measles in Serbia, 2018). The CDC adds that measles is a caused by a highly contagious airborne virus that can result in complications including pneumonia and death (Measles in Serbia, 2018). In this regard, Takia and Wichmann (2014) report that, “Measles is a viral disease that can lead to severe complications such as encephalitis, pneumonia and death” (p. 743). In fact, as of August 2018, there had been approximately 41,000 cases of measles across Europe but Serbia was especially hard hit and at least 14 people had died in Serbia as a result of this latest outbreak of this highly communicable disease (Jakab, 2018).

This recent outbreak was all the more discouraging for European health care officials since it represented the highest level of measles in Europe for more than a decade (Jakab, 2018). International health care authorities cite the lack of immunizations as one of the main reasons for this outbreak of measles in Serbia (Jakab, 2018). For instance, according to Tomáškova and Zelená (2018), “Vaccination commenced in the 1960s [which] significantly influenced a change in the epidemiological situation of measles in Europe. In many countries the endemic transmission of infection was successfully interrupted [and[ the incidence rate decreased to a historical low in the year 2007 to less than 10...…acquired?

None.

How many are travel associated?

None.

How many cases are reported in your home state?

None.

Regarding the “Chain of Infection” of Zika virus disease.

What is the pathogen?

According to the CDC, the pathogen responsible for the Zika virus is a “single-stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus” (Clinical evaluation and disease, 2018, para. 2).

What are the reservoirs?

In this context, a reservoir refers to a habitat in which infectious agents such as the Zika virus can grow and thrive (Introduction to epidemiology, 2018).

How is Zika transmitted?

The Zika virus is directly or indirectly transmitted when the pathogen leaves its reservoir in its host and causes infection by entering through a susceptible host’s portal of entry, a sequence that is referred to as “the chain of infection” (Introduction to epidemiology, 2018).

Who are susceptible hosts?

Although anyone can be infected by the Zika virtus, humans with certain genetic traits and those with diminished immune systems are at especially high risk (Introduction…