tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29708700992778693282024-02-08T10:20:08.168-08:00RebeccaGermeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13580104742913950900noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2970870099277869328.post-24075957685798094432015-09-01T09:35:00.002-07:002015-09-01T09:35:25.675-07:00HealthMap is a Way to Track Virus SurveillanceHave you ever wondered how the world is mapped and tracked accurately? There are plenty of ways in which people used to measure the earth, how they mapped out each and every region and geographical nuance of the world. There were many challenges in the world that people had to face in order to accurately map out each and every location across the globe. Some spent their entire lives devoted to the cause, and they definitely helped with the process of it all. Their contributions did not go unnoticed, as they were always built upon and advanced over the years. Now, however, we have been able to map the world on such an advanced level that we no longer strive for a more accurate representation of the landscape. Now, however, we strive to map social and biological changes and shifts over time. One such new kind of mapping component is that of disease surveillance. Now that we have information about how many people live in each geographical location, there are many ways we can track health changes in the world.
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For example, the website HealthMap is able to accurately track and locate different kinds of virus and disease outbreaks in the world. While this isn’t the traditional kind of mapping that most people think about, there certainly is a time and place for this in the world, as it will not only help people gain insight into disease awareness and how easily they can spread around in the world, but it is also good to use an an alarm or awareness tool for your local area. Not only is this information just available in your own area in the United States, but the information provided by HealthMap is also tracked on a global scale. There are multiple sources that the automated system that go into HealthMap, so you can rest assured that the data and information is all properly filtered and checked before presented to the public. All of these sources are then <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm">accurately noted and measured</a> with other reports to generate a greater context. Once all of the pieces come together, HealthMap is able to determine what kind of diseases and infectious problems are occurring around the globe, how many outbreaks there are, and how soon they can occur in nearby areas.
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With all of this information at our disposal, we can both be proactive and be knowledgeable about all of the diseases and other kinds of contagions, whether it is something as basic as flu surveillance, or something as serious as a malaria outbreak. Regardless of the disease, HealthMap is helping the global community understand and rethink their entire strategies for reporting on outbreaks as well as preparing themselves for any potential threats. Now that we have HealthMap at our disposal, either on our web browser or on our mobile devices, we can begin to appreciate and understand the effort that goes into mapping all of this information by using all of our available resources, and that our technology has progressed to such a point to help us as a world.Germeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13580104742913950900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2970870099277869328.post-73982826538201435792015-09-01T09:28:00.003-07:002015-09-01T09:31:59.110-07:00Disease surveillance is crucial in our interconnected worldIn todays increasingly interconnected world, the threats posed by disease and illness are growing. Someone can get on a plane in Africa or Asia, and carry a potentially deadly disease halfway across the world. This has happened before with MDR-TB (multi drug resistant tuberculosis). There was a case when a young man got on a plane with MDR-TB and traveled from the US to Europe, unaware that he was carrying this deadly illness, and putting hundreds of people at risk.
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The interconnectedness of the world today is one of the key reasons why disease and outbreak surveillance is so important. Organizations and institutions throughout the world work daily to keep track of various disease outbreaks and report these outbreaks to the community. By doing this, people can be aware of health threats in their area and take the proper precautions. A great example of this is an outbreak of salmonella tied to a specific brand of spinach. This information is collected by healthcare workers and communicated to the public. This type of quick communication of important information saves lives. But what about communicating this information beyond just your own community? In today’s world, people are coming and going from places all around the world on a daily basis. We are past the era when you can simply report a disease outbreak to your local community, a disease outbreak can potentially have a global impact.
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There are many great sources out their for global disease surveillance, and many sources which can provide travelers, humanitarian workers, and others with up to date information on disease outbreaks throughout the world. One of these sources is HealthMap, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_surveillance">web based contagious virus map</a> which gathers information from leading sources of global health surveillance around the world and puts it in one easily accessible location. Using HealthMap, you can search the world for disease outbreaks and local health information. When you first log into HealthMap, you will see a map of the world covered in pins, and each of these pins is a health alert or threat. You can click on each pin and see what different alerts show up for a particular part of the world.
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These types of disease surveillance applications are growing in popularity and demand. It is a great resource for travelers, and humanitarian workers alike who travel to remote parts of the world and want to be able to see what the current health situation looks like. As the world continues to grow and the population continues to rise, the risk of diseases will continue to grow. Climate change is changing the landscape and causing certain types of illness and disease to pop up in parts of the world where they never before existed. All of these reasons prove the need for more localized information on these global challenges. We are past the time of thinking that what happens on the other side of the world does not affect us, because it does affect us all!Germeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13580104742913950900noreply@blogger.com