Diarrheal Disease Epidemiology
This is the second cause of death among children below 5years old. It can be prevented or medicated. Each year diarrhea claims the lives of more than 525,000 children all over the world. A noteworthy percentage of diarrhea cases can be avoided by consuming clean water and proper sanitation and cleanliness. Internally, the World Health Organization has reported 1.7billion cases of diarrheal illness each year. In some parts of the world, diarrhea is one of the leading causes of malnutrition in children aged five years and below. In most cases and medical examinations, diarrhea can occur due to more than one factor (Riddle, DuPont, & Connor, 2016). The most common underlying factor responsible for causing diarrhea is contamination found in norovirus or rotavirus. These two viruses most affect children aged 5 years and below. Bacteriological diarrhea normally occurs due to campylobacter or salmonella bacterial organisms. Whenever people live in places with poor hygiene, infections containing Shigella and E.coli tend to lead to diarrhea. Other point s of contact that might cause diarrhea are new foods that the body is not accustomed too, one may experience diarrhea as the body tries its best to get rid of the foreign foods that it is not used to consuming. Also, food intolerances such as gluten can cause one to suffer from diarrhea. Secondly, irritable bowel syndrome also plays a role in initiating diarrhea because of the high levels of excretion from the body. In addition, whenever the bowels are inflamed, the body might be forced to diarrhea due to the extensive nature with which the body needs to eliminate unwanted waste. Acute diarrhea can last for days or even weeks. Diarrhea that can last for more than 14 days or more is persistent; hence the patient needs to seek further medical counseling from a medical expert.
Descriptive Of the Disease in a Particular Population
As mentioned earlier, diarrhea most affects children aged 5 years and below. Most of the children come from developing nations, translating the number into 2billion worldwide cases with a 3.2 median for each child. According to investigations done on the disease, females under five years old are more likely to experience diarrhea than their male counterparts. However, some nations claim that boys are more favored than girls, hence accounting for why the girls are more exposed to diarrhea than boys (Vogt, & Finlay, 2017). The defined microbe responsible for causing diarrhea in communities all over the world is Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. Compared to other microbes, E.coli is accountable for more than half of the cases.
There are three classes of diarrhea- acute moist, acute blood-stained, and persistent. Persistent diarrhea can linger for more than 14 days—diarrhea results from polluted food and water sources. Internationally, 780million people have no access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation hence the spread of diarrhea in developing nations (Acree, & Davis, 2017). In poverty, stricken nations, children aged 3 years old can experience diarrhea three times per year. Each diarrhea episode denies the child a chance to enrich his body with nutrients he deserves to keep the body in the right shape for development.
Diarrhea Distribution by Place
The hardest hit by this disease are developing countries where poverty is rampant and poor people have no access to clean food material and water sources. In the end, they end up suffering from diarrhea. It is vital to note that diarrhea causes death by dehydrating the body of important nutrients (Cherepaniva et al., 2018). Nutrients that would be otherwise used to build up strength all stead are expelled from the body for good. The chance to develop mitigation measures only relies on how good people tend to develop proper sanitation mechanisms for cleaning water and food sources. On the other hand, developed countries might experience diarrhea but not in large amounts as developing countries do. The essence of capturing the problem on time can help prevent the disease from further affecting children aged 5 years and below.
Distribution by Time
As per 2017 medical reports, diarrhea had claimed the lives of more than a 1.6million people all over the world. Diarrheal infections are normally the primary underlying cause of death worldwide. Also, adults aged 70 years and above can be burdened by diarrheal infections. Out of the numerous causes of death, diarrheal infections can be accountable for a tenth of the children's death worldwide (Doan & Malysh, 2017). In 2017, medics developed a vaccine against Rotavirus, the leading microbe responsible for causing diarrhea worldwide. In every five years, children remain one of the affected age groups internationally. A child who does not receive medical care or has no access to clean food can easily succumb to the disease within a month or less. Most parents are advised to cater to the children's medical needs as far as sanitation and food are concerned. Also, children aged five years and below have weak immune systems compared to other children, hence preventing diarrheal infections from entering into their systems.
References
Acree, M., & Davis, A. M. (2017). Acute diarrheal infections in adults. Jama, 318(10), 957-958.
Cherepaniva, E. A., Goliusov, A. A., Linok, A. V., Filatov, N. N., & Simonova, E. G. (2018). Modern characteristics and tendencies of diarrheal infections epidemic process in Russia. Инфекция и иммунитет, 8(4), 504.
Doan, S. I., & Malysh, N. G. (2017). Epidemiological features of diarrheal infections in Ukraine. Актуальная инфектология, 5(4).
Riddle, M. S., DuPont, H. L., & Connor, B. A. (2016). ACG clinical guideline: diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of acute diarrheal infections in adults. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 111(5), 602-622.
Vogt, S. L., & Finlay, B. B. (2017). Gut microbiota-mediated protection against diarrheal infections—Journal of travel medicine, 24(suppl_1), S39-S43.
