The Nurse’s Role during an Infectious or Communicable Disease Outbreak
Nurses have a crucial role in the management of all forms of diseases in a hospital setting. However, there are instances when they are called upon to the field to apply their expertise in managing the spread of the diseases at the community level through clinical interventions such as vaccinations. Nurses are very important human resource personnel in the health sector, and thus there is the need to recognize their efforts in making the world a better place. The paper shall discus the study a pattern of a communicable disease and the role of nurses in managing its outbreak in the community.
The article is titled “Zika outbreak and what one needs to know”. It gives a summary of several issues concerning Zika virus, a disease that is suspected to be the cause of thousands of babies being born with an undeveloped brain (Zika Outbreak, 2016). World Health Organization declared Zika virus as a global public health emergency as per the end of May 2016 (What You Need to Know Zika Outbreak, 2016). In some areas, doctors declared it a pandemic going as far as advising women to delay pregnancy. It gives an outline of the symptoms of the disease as mild fever, headache, conjunctivitis, rash and joint pain. The infection is also linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome that causes temporary paralysis.
The disease does not have any cure; however, patients are always advised to take plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. Of special concern is the impact on the baby’s brain development. Babies born to infected mothers are likely to suffer microcephaly, a condition characterized by small head size and undeveloped brain. The condition affects close to 25,000 born in the United States every year (Zika Outbreak, 2016). The reason for declaring it a global public health emergency is because the disease spreads far and fast and it is feared that it is a global threat just like Ebola. Zika is said to originate from Ugandan monkeys in 1947, and the first human case detected and reported in Nigeria in 1954, further outbreaks since then were reported in Africa, South East Asia, and the Pacific Islands (Zika Virus, 2016). The most recent being in South America, North America, and Europe.
Epidemiological Triangle
Zika virus was a zoonotic disease of the monkeys before a human case was detected. Investigations on the disease revealed that it was spread by an infected Aedes mosquito drink human blood. There are two species of the Aedes that are known to spread Zika virus and other viral diseases: Aedesaegypti and Aedesalbopictus (Getachew et. al, 2015). They are spread throughout the world through used tires in the international trade. The mosquito is also known to spread other diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunya. Unlike Anopheles mosquito, it is active during the day, and it survives throughout America except in Canada and Chile where the temperatures are too low.
Once the vector contracts the virus, it remains infected throughout its life, and it transmits the virus during its regular blood meals. The mosquito prefers to lay its eggs in trash, flower vases, containers, old automobile tires, and buckets (Getachew et.al, 2015). The female mosquitos spend most of their lifetime in the houses or in the surrounding environments where they breed. The mosquito feeds during the day making it difficult to be controlled using bed nets.
Role of Nurses in Managing Zika Virus
Healthcare workers including nurses have a very imperative in preventing Zika virus transmission and case management of the infected people. Some of the responsibilities nurses have in controlling the disease include strengthening event-based surveillance systems to detect the initial cases (Epidemiological Update, 2015). They should be alert for the emergence of a rash febrile syndrome of a known etiology ruling out diseases such as dengue fever, measles, rubella, parvovirus B19 or chikungunya and test for zika virus infection instead(Epidemiological Update, 2015).
The other role is to monitor trends and the geographical spread of the virus so as to detect introduction into the new areas. It is also essential for a nurse to monitor potential neurological complications and the autoimmune complications and the impact on public health (Epidemiological Update, 2015). It is also important to identify the risk factors that are associated with the Zika virus infection and identify the circulating lineages of the virus. In case of management, it is important for nurses to develop and implement protocols and established plans that used for effective and efficient patient screening and treatment. Laboratory tests should be used to differentiate dengue fever from Zika virus (Chang et al., 2015).
While treating patients, the nurse should monitor the progress of a patient and continuously administer fluids. Administering of acetaminophen or paracetamol can be done to relief fever. It is important for the nurse to counsel the patient on how to manage the disease, and what to avoid when one has the disease (Getachew et.al, 2015). Nurses are also advised to educate women on the importance of avoiding pregnancy when there are reported cases of the disease.
Health Promotion/Health Protection Strategies
Some of the health promotion strategies that can be used to manage Zika virus are creating awareness campaigns that will educate people on how to eradicate Zika virus from the community. The other plan is to isolate patients that have the active form of the disease from transmitting the disease to others (Getachew et.al, 2015). They can also educate the male patients who have contracted the disease from transmitting it to their partners by exercising protected sex for at least six months. It is also their role to engage the non-governmental sectors and private organizations and also maintain risk communication and mobilization of the entire community.
References
Chang, F., Tseng, Y., Hsu, P., Chen, C., Lian, I., & Chao, D. (2015). Re-assess Vector Indices Threshold as an Early Warning Tool for Predicting Dengue Epidemic in a Dengue Non-endemic Country.PLoSNegl Trop Dis, 9(9), e0004043. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004043
Epidemiological Update: Zika virus infection. (2015). Paho.org. Retrieved 20 July 2016, from http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&Itemid=&gid=32021&lang=en
Getachew, D., Tekie, H., Gebre-Michael, T., Balkew, M., &Mesfin, A. (2015). Breeding Sites ofAedesaegypti: Potential Dengue Vectors in Dire Dawa, East Ethiopia. Interdisciplinary Perspectives On Infectious Diseases, 2015, 1-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/706276
Zika outbreak: What you need to know - BBC News. (2016). BBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35370848
Zika virus. (2016). World Health Organization. Retrieved 20 July 2016, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/
