What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
Disease Threats
Our “war” on infectious microbes has restricted the spread of several pathogens and drastically reduced the burden of human disease. But we are a long way from conquering infectious diseases. They account for about one-quarter of deaths worldwide and in 2015 they caused more than half of the estimated 5.9 million deaths in children under the age of 5. What are some of the most significant microbial threats we face?
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What do you know about infectious disease?
Which of the following is needed to help improve the public health situation in developing countries?
- More safe water supplies
- Better sewage treatment and disposal
- Improved food safety and vaccination programs
- All of the above
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.
-
Correct!
All of the above are urgently needed in developing nations. A major barrier to achieving these improvements is the underlying weakness of health systems in resource-poor countries, including a shortage of health workers and a lack of disease surveillance programs.
Infectious Disease Defined
- White Blood Cell
A special type of cell that works as part of the immune system to defend the body against disease and infection.
National Academies
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- Antibiotic Resistance: Implications for Global Health and Novel Intervention Strategies (2010)
- The Domestic and International Impacts of the 2009-H1N1 Influenza A Pandemic: Global Challenges, Global Solutions—Workshop Summary (2010)
- Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration (2010)
- Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases (2009)
- Vector-Borne Diseases: Understanding the Environmental, Human Health, and Ecological Connections—Workshop Summary (2008)
- Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health: Policies, Practices, and Global Coordination—Workshop Summary (2006)
- The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects—Workshop Summary (2004)
