Essays on Chikungunya

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 ...

Introduction

The Zika virus causes an illness known as Zika virus disease (Zika). The transmission of Zika virus occurs via the bite of an Aedes mosquito that is infected (CDC, 2016). Zika belongs to the genre Flavivirus and the WHO (2015) has identified it as “an emerging mosquito-borne virus.” The virus causes a mild illness that lasts a few days to a week (CDC, 2016; WHO, 2016). Thus, many people with the disease do not seek medical help. However, the greatest concern associated with Zika is microcephaly. This birth defect results from a Zika infection during pregnancy. This defect is ...

Analysis of Diseases

Overview Chikungunya (CHIK) refers to a re-emerging arboviral disease transmitted by the mosquitos Aedes aegypty and Aedes albopictus (Pialoux 318). The virus belongs to the genus Alphavirus and family Togaviridae. The word chikungunya derives from Makonde language (spoken in Tanzania and northern Mozambique), where it means “to walk bent over” (Halstead 557). This name refers to the main feature of both chronic and acute phase of the disease a change in posture causes by the arthritis and arthralgia (Charrel, Lamballerie and Raoult 769).

History

The disease gained its name after the outbreak in Tanganyika, the modern Tanzania in 1952. However, ...