Public Health and Community Issues

Public Health and Community Issues

Public Health and Community Issues

Influenza in Texas

Reports on Influenza in the years 2019 and 2020 indicate that the cases are rising exponentially. The significant types of Influenza detected are A and B with numerous subtypes. Transmission of the disease is through droplets from an infected person that results from sneezing or coughing. Influenza manifests through a headache, pain throughout the body, or a sore throat. Also, the condition causes ear infections and pneumonia. The high mortality rate among the vulnerable population in Texas attributes to Influenza. The report also noted the severity of the flu cases in Texas compared to other geographical locations in the United States (US), thus causing a need to reduce the risk of infection through vaccination and distancing from infected individuals (Liu, Srinivasan & Meyers, 2019).

Earth Quakes in California

The New York Times reported an earthquake in Central California on June 24, 2020. The strike caused a rockslide in Mount Whitney. The US geological survey indicated that the earthquake’s magnitude was 5.8 and affected the  Lone Pine, Calif, and  Death Valley National Park in Central California. Ten other quakes accompanied the strike in the same location. The impact of earthquakes was felt even in San Francisco and Las Vegas, far from the Lone Pine Strong (Earthquake Strikes Central California 2020).

Why Influenza in Texas and Earthquakes in California are Public Health and Community Issues

Influenza is a public health issue as Reports from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate approximately nine million-45 million infections attributed to the flu. Thus, causing tentatively 140,000-810,000 in patients, which consequently leads to an average of 12,000-61,000 deaths every year since 2010 in the US(Liu, Srinivasan & Meyers, 2019).The earthquake in  California is a community health issue as it caused the displacement of people from the Mount Whitney area due to the rockslide. It also created the destruction of business facilities and disruptions of daily lives. However, while there were no injuries from the earthquakes, there is a chance that future strikes may cause injuries, thus shifting it to a public health issue(Earthquake Strikes Central California 2020).

References

Liu, K., Srinivasan, R., & Meyers, L. A. (2019). Early Detection of Influenza outbreaks in the United States. arXiv preprint arXiv:1903.01048.

Strong Earthquake Strikes Central California. (2020). Retrieved July 1, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/us/lone-pine-earthquake-california.html/