Malaria, HIV and tuberculosis rage as perpetual epidemics in developing nations. Developed nations have an ethical duty and compelling socioeconomic reasons for combatting these global infectious diseases.
Student of medicine and the history of medicine, J Mellinger examines a 14th-century manuscript for evidence of physicians’ duty to treat during the Black Plague.
In “Allocating Scare Resources in a Pandemic,” Martin Strosberg calls attention to the need for preparedness planning including methods for rationing vaccines, antiviral medications, and intensive care unit beds and staff.
The Epidemic Intelligence Service, by Douglas H. Hamilton, traces the history of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, with details about the service’s response to actual and potential epidemic outbreaks.
Allison Bickford, a science student, discusses multidrug-resistant tuberculosis epidemics in New York and Russia in the 1990s. On the verge of global eradication 20 years ago, TB is now one of the leading infectious causes of death in the world.
Physicians should go beyond basic medical diagnosis and treatment to offer support to families about the gamut of social and emotional issues that are involved with caring for a severely disabled child.
Health care policy changes are needed to minimize the risk to physicians responding to public health emergencies and aid in their longer-term responsibility of protecting and promoting the nation's health.
The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act proposes state legislation that should be enacted to ensure an adequate and coordinated response to public health emergencies.
Many public health officials are calling for mandatory vaccination against smallpox for all emergency medical workers, but the possibility of adverse reactions to the vaccine raises questions of compensation for those injured.