Communicable disease Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communicable disease - Assignment Example A chain of infections is usually made up of 6 causing factors, these are; the infectious agent which are usually the disease causing organisms, the reservoir which is the natural environment the pathogens need for their survival, the portal of exit which is the means by which the pathogens leave the reservoir which is the infected person, the means of transmission which is usually either direct or indirect i.e. physical contact, unprotected sex, the air, or parasites, the portal of entry which is either inhalation, penetration or ingestion, and finally the new host of whom the disease causing pathogens attack. Immunity is the state of having total biological defense to fight disease as well as infections. There are two main types of immunity these are adaptive immunity and innate immunity. Innate immunity is the ability of one’s body to defend itself against infections naturally and it’s a form of body defense one is born with. However, adaptive immunity that is usually subdivided into various categories is a form of immunity that one acquires after weakened disease causing pathogen is introduced into the body making the body develop adapt and develop immunity. In September 2014 onwards, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as other partners have spent countless efforts in investigating reports among children in the USA that have developed sudden weakness in either one of their limbs. MRI scans reveal that children with such symptoms have an inflammation of the grey matter nerve cells that are usually in the spinal cord located in the vertebrate. This infectious disease is Acute Flaccid Myelitis. From the month of August to April this year, CDC has verified reports of more than 118 children in over 34 states including Florida and the county of Miami Dade that have developed the disease. Majority of the children are about 7 years of age and due to the disease have been hospitalized and put