Mechanical barrier against infection

Mechanical barrier against infectionTake Home Midterm1.) wholeness example of a mechanical barrier against infection would be the surface layer of our cutis. The surface layer of human skin is acidic and very dry, consequently making it difficult for pathogens to survive. In attachment to this, the surface layer of human skin consists of dead(p) epithelial cells, infra which numerous viruses defend difficulty replicating. Moreover, dead epithelial skin cells argon frequently being replaced, and thus pathogens that ar present on the skin often do not have a chance to cause infection. Therefore, the surface layer of human skin is a very heavy mechanical barrier against infections.Sometimes they are circumstances under which the surface layer of our skin can be compromised, thus resulting in infection. Several breaches to the surface layer such as through bites, burns, cuts, or psychic trauma can allow for bacteria to enter into the t growth, thus resulting in infection. w izard such example of an infection that can result from a breach of the skin is Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted from a bite from an infected tick. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused from the bacterial organism Rickettsia rickettsii and may cause fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and joint pain. In asset to this, burns to the surface layer of the skin can destroy the antifertility layer and thus allow for many types of bacteria such as staphylococci to colonize and infect the respective(prenominal). Thus, the surface layer of our skin is an extremely important mechanical barrier against infection and protects us from surface and environmental pathogens.Church, Diedre, Owen Reid, and Brent Winston. Burn Wound Infections. ClinicalMicrobiology Reviews 2nd ser. 19 (2006) 403-34. PubMed Central. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. . fall in States. Centers for ailment Control and Pr hithertotion. Division of Viral andRickettsial distempers. CDC, 1 Apr. 2008 . Web. 31 Mar. 2010..2.) In recent years, globalization has lead to many issues associated with food borne infirmityes. Some of the factors re new-fangledd to this issue are an increase in the amount of food that is traded between countries, international travel and migration of individuals from different countries, and economic and technological advances that have changed the types of foods that individuals eat. In addition to this, the slipway in which foods are prepared are changing, and the introduction of new foods to new regions are some of the factors feigning food borne illnesses. Furthermore, dietary habits of individuals are beginning to switching to a healthier diet and more and more individuals are starting to eat more organic and fresh food. To be able to meet these demands, the united States and other countries have to import genuine foods on a seasonal basis. For example, according to the CDC, more than 75% of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are available i n U.S. markets and restaurants are imported. It has been estimated that the increased demand for fruits and vegetables has nearly doubled the rank of food borne illnesses. Therefore, individuals are at a greater risk to acquire a food borne illness from contaminated food that is imported from other countries.Currently, one of the largest consequences of globalization and international trading is that when food becomes contaminated it can spread all over the world. In years past, food borne illnesses were thought to be local events and it was easier to ascertain the cause of the illness. However, this is no longer the parapraxis and takes much longer now that globalization has occurred. One example of a food borne illness that spread to different countries was an come inbreak of shigellosis in eight restaurants caused by a common strain of Shigella sonnei that occurred in the United States and Canada between July and August in 1998. It was determined that the illness was associate d from the ingestion of parsley. In each case the parsley was bring to have been chopped and go forth at room temperature for several hours before being used. In addition to this, in 6 of the outbreaks it was found that the parsley was traced to a specific farm in Baja California, Mexico. Thus, it was in all probability that the parsley had been contaminated before shipment. Therefore, as seen from these examples, globalization has had a major sham on food borne illnesses and with changes in dietary habits, the increase in international travel and migration, and an increase in imported foods have been some of the main reasons associated with food borne illnesses relating to globalization.Angier. A World in Motion The Global accomplishment of People, Products, Pathogens, andPower. The National Academies Press. 2001. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for infectiveDiseases. feedborne Disease Control A Transnational Challe nge. By D. W. Betthcer. 4th ed. Vol. 3. capital of Georgia CDC, 2010. National Center for Infectious Diseases. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .United States. World Health Organization. Food Safety and Foodborne Illness. Web. 31Mar. 2010. .3). According to Dr. Nelson El-Amins lecture, inoculations have had a large impact on pathogenic disease rates. One such disease that has seen a dramatic decrease in the telephone number of individuals affected is lockjaw. According to the lecture, the number of individuals that had Tetanus in 1947 was slightly 560-570. Since vaccination for Tetanus has occurred in the United States, on that point has been a steady downward decrease in the number of individuals affected. In 2002, the number of individuals affected with Tetanus was about 10-20. In addition to this, another disease that has significantly decreased collectable to vaccination is the rates of individuals affected with Diphtheria. According to the lecture, in 1940, the number of individuals af fected with Diphtheria was about 16,000. Since vaccination for Diphtheria, the rates of those infected have significantly decreased. In 2000, the rate for those infected with Diphtheria was almost non-existent. And finally, another example that was presented in Dr. El-Amins lecture was disease rates for Polio. At one time, Polio was the most feared disease in United States and caused either paralysis or death. Before there was a vaccination for Polio, Polio affected more than 20,000 individuals per year. In 1955, the first Polio vaccination was licensed and had a significant impact on the rates of those affected with Polio. Today, there arent any reported cases of Polio in the United States. Thus, as seen from the examples presented in Dr. El-Amins lecture, vaccinations have had a significant impact in reduction the disease rates for many infective diseases, and in some cases, such as Polio, vaccinations have just about completely eliminated Polio in the United States.El Amin, Alvi n N. The Changing Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases.PM 527 Infectious Disease Epidemiology Class. Los Angeles. 11 Mar. 2010. Lecture.4). In 1879, Robert Koch discovered the anthrax bacterium and developed the Kochs postulates for causation. There are 4 postulates that Koch believed must be satisfied in order to establish causation. The postulates state the bacteria must be present in every case of the disease, the bacteria must be isolated from the host with the disease and grown in sharp culture, the specific disease must be reproduced when a unmingled culture of the bacteria is inoculated into a healthy susceptible host, and that the bacteria must be recoverable from the experimentally infected host. One such example of an infected disease that satisfies the Kochs postulates is Anthrax. Anthrax was the first infectious disease that was discovered by Koch, and it was this disease that gave birth to his 4 postulates.On the contrary, there are exceptions of certain infe ctious diseases that do not satisfy all of the Kochs postulates. There are many infectious diseases in which infected carriers do not show the signs or symptoms of having the disease. These individuals are thus asymptomatic. One example of this is from the Bartonella species of bacteria. Certain species that are infected with Bartonella do not show any signs of symptoms, whereas other infected species do. Therefore, in cases where the infected individual does not show any signs or symptoms, all the Kochs postulates are not satisfied. In addition to this, certain infectious diseases cannot be grown in pure culture, but rather can only reproduce in living cells. Thus, in cases such as these, the Kochs postulates are as well as not satisfied. Other examples of infectious diseases that do not satisfy all of the Kochs postulates are cholera, typhoid fever, and herpes simplex.Jacomo, V., and P. J. Kelly. Natural History of Bartonella Infections (an Exception toKochs Postulate). Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 9.1 (2002) 8-18. American clubhouse of Microbiology. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .5). According to Dr. Nelson El-Amins lecture, there are a few reasons why diseases such as measles and polio have not been completely eradicated even though there are vaccines to prevent these diseases. One of the reasons presented in the lecture for this is due to the fact that some individuals do not receive the vaccination against these diseases out of fear. There are cases of individuals that do not receive measles vaccinations due to concerns that vaccinations have caused certain ailments such as autism. This is evident from a cohort count conducted on unvaccinated children that have not received befitting vaccination due to concerns of safety. However, according to the lecture, there is no scientific fact to support the beliefs that autism is associated with the MMR vaccinations. other reason why certain collections of individuals do not receive vaccinations is be cause it goes against their religious beliefs and they believe that they do not need to receive a vaccination in order to be protected against diseases.Some of the characteristics for individuals that have not received proper vaccination are individuals that are young, individuals that do not know their vaccination status, and individuals that have migrated from other countries. According to the lecture, in cases in which individuals have not received vaccination, 76% of those individuals are less than 20 years old. In addition to this, 91% of unvaccinated individuals do not know their vaccination status. And furthermore, 89% of unvaccinated individuals are people that have migrated from other countries. Therefore, the evidence shows that the reasons why certain diseases such as polio and measles have not been completely eradicated are due to the fact that not everybody has received proper vaccination. This is either due from individuals refusing to receive vaccination out of fear o r some other belief, certain individuals do not know that they have not received proper vaccination, or certain individuals have migrated from other countries and have not received all their vaccinations.El Amin, Alvin N. The Changing Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases.PM 527 Infectious Disease Epidemiology Class. Los Angeles. 11 Mar. 2010. Lecture.6). According to Dr. Wohls lecture on HIV/AIDS, the distribution of AIDS diagnoses has changed amongst the different race/ethnic groups since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. For example, in 1985, about 60% of the total AIDS cases were amongst Caucasians, about 27% were amongst Black/African Americans, about 16% were amongst Hispanic/Latinos, about 1% were amongst Asians, and less than 1% were amongst American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. As of 2007, these rates have changed amongst the different race/ethnic groups. For example, for Caucasians the rates have decreased to about 28% of the to tal AIDS cases. On the contrary, rates for Black/African Americans have increased to about 48% of the total AIDS cases. In addition to this, rates for Hispanic/Latinos have also increased to about 21% of the total AIDS cases. For Asians, the rates have remained constant at nigh 1% of the total cases, and the rates amongst American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander have also remained constant at around less than 1% of the total AIDS cases.According to the lecture, SHAS examined time intervals between when a person first learned that they had HIV and when they were diagnosed with AIDS. As indicated by the findings, undercover work rates varied significantly between different racial/ethnic groups. The results showed that Caucasians were more likely than Black/African American or Hispanic/Latinos to have their HIV infection to be detect early (more than 5 years) before their onset of AIDS. Thus, many more Caucasians were more likely to fall into the early detective work group in comparison to other racial groups. In contrast to this, Hispanic/Latinos were much more likely than any other racial group to have their HIV infection detected very late (within a year) in their progress to AIDS diagnosis. Thus, Hispanic/Latinos were more likely to fall into the very late detection group in comparison to other racial groups. Black/African Americans were also very likely to have their HIV infections detected very late prior to coming down with an AIDS diagnosis, however, the rates of Black/African Americans in the very late detection group was reject than that of Hispanic/Latinos. The rates between racial/ethnic groups for individuals that had their HIV infection detected between 13 and 60 months prior to AIDS diagnosis (late detection) was relatively equal between all of the racial/ethnic groups. In addition to these finding, according to the lecture, it was shown that in Los Angeles, individuals that were more likely to be late testers wer e found to be women, Black/African Americans, foreign born Latinos, U.S. born Latinos, those exposed to HIV via heterosexual contact, young individuals, and less educated individuals.There are many implications associated with late detection of HIV. Individuals infected with HIV that are diagnosed later in life, are not able to receive proper antiretroviral therapy. And thus, those individuals are more likely to suffer from adverse effects in comparison to individuals that are diagnosed earlier in life who are able to receive the proper medication to suffice slow down their onset of AIDS. In addition to this, individuals that are detected of having HIV later in life are more likely to affect other individuals, thus spreading HIV to other unknowing individuals and further exacerbating the issue. Therefore, as shown from the lecture, there are many negative implications of late detection, and it has also been shown that the distribution of AIDS has changed significantly amongst racia l/ethnic groups since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.Wohl, Amy R. HIV and AIDS Worldwide, the U.S. and Los Angeles County. PM 527Infectious Disease Epidemiology Class. Los Angeles. 18 Feb. 2010. Lecture.Works CitedAngier. A World in Motion The Global Movement of People, Products, Pathogens, and Power. The National Academies Press. 2001. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.Church, Diedre, Owen Reid, and Brent Winston. Burn Wound Infections. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 2nd ser. 19 (2006) 403-34. PubMed Central. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .El Amin, Alvin N. The Changing Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases. Infectious Disease Epidemiology Class. Los Angeles. 11 Mar. 2010. Lecture.Jacomo, V., and P. J. Kelly. Natural History of Bartonella Infections (an Exception to Koch?s Postulate). Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology 9.1 (2002) 8-18. American hunting lodge of Microbiology. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases. CDC, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Infectious Diseases. Foodborne Disease Control A Transnational Challenge. By D. W. Betthcer. 4th ed. Vol. 3. Atlanta CDC, 2010. National Center for Infectious Diseases. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .United States. World Health Organization. Food Safety and Foodborne Illness. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. .Wohl, Amy R. HIV and AIDS Worldwide, the U.S. and Los Angeles County. PM 527 Infectious Disease Epidemiology Class. Los Angeles. 18 Feb. 2010. Lecture.