Suchergebnisse

Este libro, ilustrado con múltiples ejemplos de investigaciones de campo, resume la información más pertinentes y útil del impacto de los desastres en la salud pública. Está dividido en cuatro secciones que tratan asuntos generales, eventos geofísicos, problemas relacionados con el clima y desastres generados por el hombre. La discusión se inicia con una exposición breve de los conceptos y del papel de la vigilancia y de la epidemiología, resaltando aspectos de salud ambiental, control de enfermedades transmisibles, relaciones efectivas con los medios y el impacto psicológico de los desastres. Los otros capítulos, basados en una variedad de experiencias y literatura tanto de países industrializados como en vías de desarrollo, cubren tipos específicos de riesgos naturales y tecnológicos, abordando su historia, origen, naturaleza, observación y control. Dado el profundo impacto en la salud pública de las crísis conocidas como complejas, el libro dedica un capítulo especial a este tema, incluyendo poblaciones de desplazados y situaciones de refugiados.

In an increasingly interdependent world, we face an array of new global challenges that transcend the traditional definition of national security. One important example is the resurgence of infectious diseases. In the 1960s and 1970s, powerful antibiotic drugs and vaccines appeared to have banished the major plagues from the industrialized world, leading to a mood of complacency and the neglect of programs for disease surveillance and prevention. Over the past few decades, however, infectious diseases have returned with a vengeance. Many factors, or combinations of factors, can contribute to disease emergence. New infectious diseases may emerge from genetic changes in existing organisms; known diseases may spread to new geographic areas and populations; and previously unknown infections may appear in humans due to changing ecological conditions that increase their exposure to insect vectors, animal reservoirs, or environmental sources of novel pathogens. Reemergence may also occur because of the development of anti‐microbial resistance in existing infections (e.g., malaria) or breakdowns in public health measures for previously controlled infections due to civil conflict (e.g., cholera, tuberculosis). Not only does the re‐emergence of infectious diseases threaten health directly, but devastating epidemics such as AIDS are spawning widespread political instability and civil conflict. This instability, in turn, will contribute to humanitarian emergencies and economic crises.