Public Health Issues Affecting Arizona State

Public Health Issues Affecting Arizona State Name: Institution: Course Title: Instructor: Date: Public Health Issues Affecting Arizona State The purpose of this report is to review Arizona State environmental quality and public health departments with a view of describing the community’s health concerns; identifying the existing environmental risk assessment techniques applicable to the public health concerns; and creating and strategically analyzing a proposed intervention program. Specifically, the report provides various vector related diseases that affects this community. Vector-related diseases, also referred to as vector-borne diseases, are the diseases that are transmitted indirectly to humans through vectors (Velazquez-Castro, Anzo-Hernandez, Capilla, Sato-Bajo & Fraguela-Collar, 2018). They are also defined as infections transmitted through vector-bites. Such vectors results inhuman suffering, decreased productivity, increased health care costs and increased mortality and morbidity. Vectors refer to living organisms transmitting diseases from certain animals to humans or between humans. Some of the most common vectors include blackflies sandflies, triatomine, ticks and mosquitoes. Next, the report identifies the existing environmental risk assessment techniques applicable to the vector-borne diseases. The report also provides a research-based intervention program and a SWOT analysis of the program. The Community’s Health Concerns Arizona State is faced with a variety of vector-related diseases. The Arizona Department of Health Services (2018) identify various vector-borne diseases that affects the community, including anthrax, Colorado tick fever, dengue fever, malaria, scabies, anaplasmosis, rabies, yellow fever and scabies. Specifically, the most common vector-related diseases that face Arizona State are Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, plague, valley fever and West Nile virus. These diseases and their prevalence are depicted in Figure 1 below. Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: The most common vector-related diseases facing Arizona State, 2005-2012. Source: Roach, Wilder, Smith, Chambers & Patten et al. 2017 Figure 1 above reveals that valley fever is the most prevalent vector-related disease followed by West Nile virus, plague and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, respectively. Valley fever, also called acute coccidioidomycosis, is caused by the fungus growing in the ground. Valey fever is more prevalent in southwestern United States with two-thirds of all the country’s cases being reported from Arizona State (Arizona Department of Health Services, 2018). Coccidioides organisms are the causes of this fungal infection. These organisms (fungi) are often found within the soil in certain regions of Arizona State. Once anything such as wind, construction or farming disrupts such soil, the spores of the fungi are stirred into the air that we breathe. As individuals inhale the air, the fungi enter into their lungs causing valley fever. While mild cases of this disease do not require medication, severe ones require the doctor’s prescription of the necessary antifungal medication. Some of the symptoms associated with the disease include coughing, chest pain and fever. West Nile virus is ranked as the second most common vector-related disease in Arizona State. The infection is caused by mosquito bites. The symptoms associated with this infection range from mild to severe. However, it is noteworthy that some infected individuals may not develop any symptoms. Severe symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness, stupor, coma, disorientation, convulsions, headache, tremors, neck stiffness and high fever. The Arizona Department of Health Services reports that West Nile virus is an endemic and most prevalent mosquito-borne disease throughout Arizona. On the other hand, plague is a secure and often lethal bacterial infection. Also known as black plague, this bacterial disease results from a strain of bacteria referred to as Yersinia pestis, which is transmitted from animals to people through fleas. The risk of getting infected with the disease is high in regions with a large proportion of rodents, overcrowding and poor sanitation. Plague occurs in three forms: septicemic plague, bubonic plague and pneumonic plague. Individuals get infected with this disease by being bitten by fleas that had fed on infected animals such as prairie dogs, rats, squirrels, rabbits and mice. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) refers to a serious respiratory disease resulting from infection of humans with Hantaviruses. The primary risk factor for the disease is rodent infestation in a given region. The disease is associated with flu-like symptoms, which can escalate to life-threatening breathing difficulties (Mayo Clinic, 2018). HPS progresses in three different phases with the severity of its symptoms increasing at each proceeding stage. The report by the Arizona Department of Health Services claims that individuals get exposed to HPS by inhaling infected particles originating from the droppings or urine of rodents. Its symptoms are manifested within a period of 1 to 5 weeks following the exposure of the patient to the virus and they include coughing, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fever, nausea and muscle aches. Arizona State experiences sporadic Hantavirus infection in the rural regions, especially in its northern region. Cur...