health gateway 2

Question 1

what are the scales at which diseases occur?

Answer 1

1. epidemics

2. pandemics

Question 2

how is malaria transmitted

Answer 2

through living organisms, commonly Anopheles mosquitoes in a human-mosquito-human chain

Question 3

what are the factors contributing to the spread of malaria? (social, economic and environment)

Answer 3

social:

1. lack of proper sanitation
   - waste water not properly disposed of, forming stagnant pools of water, providing favourable breeding places for mosquitoes

economic:

1. limited provision of healthcare
   - unaffordable treatment and distance from home prevent people from seeking medical treatment
   - low doctor to patient rate e.g India, 6 doctors for every 10 000 patients

environment:

1. overcrowded living conditions
   - close proximity to other people results in rapid transmission of diseases, and unhygienic conditions leave residents vulnerable to diseases
2. poor drainage and stagnant water
   - creates favourable breeding grounds for mosquitoes
3. climate
   - monsoons create favourable climates for mosquitoes to breed in due to heavy rainfall
   - warmer temperatures also shorten development time of parasites, allowing mosquitoes to grow faster
   - higher relative humidity is suitable for mosquitoes to survive in, resulting in longer lifespans

Question 4

what are the impacts of malaria?

Answer 4

social:

1. death rate
   - less than 2% of deaths worldwide were due to malaria in 2010, mostly from LDCs
2. infant mortality rate
   - in Nigeria, for every 1000 babies born, 140 die from malaria within the first year

economic:

1. burden of malaria on households
   - can be up to 34% of household’s income in the Republic of Ghana in Africa
2. cost of healthcare
   - malaria can account for up to 40% of public health spending in some countries
3. loss of productivity
   - economic growth in Africa slowed down by up to 1.3% every year

Question 5

how is HIV/AIDS transmitted?

Answer 5

1. sexual contact
2. sharing of infected needles
3. blood transfusion
4. pregnant mother to baby

Question 6

what are the factors contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS?

Answer 6

social:

1. social stigma related to the disease
   - may face discrimination , e.g in UK, 1 in 5 with an HIV diagnosis faced discrimination, harassment, threats and verbal assaults
2. education
   - lack of education results in ignorance of the disease
   - cultural practices that keep girls from knowing about sex and sexuality until marriage also results in ignorance
3. lapses in medical practices
   - 5-10% of HIV infections were due to blood transfusions tainted with HIV/AIDS

economic:

1. vice trades
   - e.g China, women have low education levels and can only find employment in jobs with low pay and job security, often resort to commercial sex work, causing them to be more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS
2. mobility
   - development of transportation enables people to travel to different countries quickly and easily, resulting in the disease from spreading faster
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Question 7

what are the impacts of HIV/AIDS?

Answer 7

social:

1. life expectancy and infant mortality rate
   - in countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, life expectancy is 6 years lower than without the disease
2. orphan crisis
   - globally, there are almost 17 million orphans from HIV/AIDS
   - suffer from emotional trauma of losing their parents, as well as face stigmatisation from society due to their association with the disease
   - loss of parents due to HIV/AIDS can limit a child’s access to basic necessities, resulting in orphans facing malnutrition and illnesses and a lower standard of living.