Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Introduction and History of Modern Health Care in the U.S.
Lecture:How Public Health has Improved Health Care
Slide content:Control of Infectious Diseases Typhoid S pread by ingesting contaminated food or water 1891 Death rate in Chicago was 174 per 100,000 people Now only about 400 cases are seen in the U.S. each year Smallpox Epidemic viral illness Early 1950s About 50 million cases of smallpox each year worldwide 1977 Smallpox eradicated 6
Slide notes:Lets focus our attention on the control of infectious diseases. A classic example of public health success in this arena is the successful control of typhoid. Typhoid is caused by bacteria, and is spread by ingesting contaminated food or water. The organism spreads through the body via the bloodstream, and causes a fever and a systemic, sometimes potentially fatal illness. In 1891, the typhoid death rate in Chicago alone was 174 per 100,000 people. Now, thanks to public health measures such as sanitation and improved hygiene, combined with the development of a vaccine, only about 400 cases are seen in the United States each year and most of these cases originate when patients travel in developing countries. Another example of the role of public health in the successful control of infectious disease is smallpox. Smallpox is a devastating disease. Its an epidemic viral illness and was responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths in the 20 th century alone. No effective treatment was ever developed for the disease, and it killed about thirty percent of patients who were infected. Between sixty-five and eighty percent of those who survived the disease were marked with deep scars, most prominently on the face. As late as the 18 th century, smallpox was responsible for the death of every tenth child born in France. In the early 1950s, there were about fifty million cases of smallpox each year worldwide. By 1967, this figure fell to ten-to-fifteen million, because of mass vaccination drives. By 1977, smallpox was eradicated. This was predominantly due to an aggressive public health program and the use of an effective vaccine. 6