Disease: WEEK 2, infectious diseases

Question 1

What is the LE?

Answer 1

Life expectancy = Average time a person is expected to live, based on the year of its birth or its current age (and other demographic factors)

Question 2

explain time trends in the burden of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Western and non- Western countries

Answer 2

Infectious diseases: still high burden of disease in non-western countries
In western-countries there has been a shift in burden of disease from the communicable to the non-communicable diseases. Has to do with the wealth of the country, Africa for example is still an undeveloped, poor country compared to the Netherlands.)

Question 3

3 most important infectious diseases in African children in terms of their global burden of disease?

Answer 3

1. Acute (Lower/upper respiratory) tract infections
2. Diarrheal disease
3. Malaria ?

Question 4

Will saving children from deadly infectious disease lead to overpopulation?

Answer 4

Improving child survival will reduce no of children born and thus decrease in population in long-term.

Question 5

What are the key drivers of fertility decline in high-fertility countries and the most important determinants of population growth?

Answer 5

Improved female access to education and modern contraceptives

Question 6

What causes the decline in child deaths over the last few decades?

Answer 6

• Vaccination
  Improved access to (improved) drugs
• Insecticide-impregnated mosquito nets (malaria)
• (Breastfeeding)
• Skilled delivery care?
• Improved access to clean water and sanitation → drop in faecal-oral disease?

Question 7

What is pneumonia? What are important risk factors?

Answer 7

Pneumonia (swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs): important risk factors are child wasting, indoor air pollution from solid fuels, low birth weight

Question 8

Why is there an increse past 2 years in malaria deaths?

Answer 8

Decline in deaths, but COVID-19 and pesticide resistance have led to increase in the past 2 years

Question 9

What is required to treat malaria?

Answer 9

Exponential growth of malaria parasites (1 parasite -> 32 parasites). Therefore fast-acting drugs are required

Question 10

Key malaria interventions?

Answer 10

Increased coverage of (long-lasting) insecticide-treated mosquito nets
▪ Replacement of old drugs by new class of fast-acting, efficacious antimalarial drugs (artemisinin-based combination therapy) as first-line treatment
▪ Introduction of rapid diagnostic tests
▪ Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women
▪ Seasonal malaria chemoprevention among young children in selected regions
▪ Residual indoor spraying