People: The Heart of Epidemics By Wendi Williams, Editor

What's an Epidemic?
The word epidemic is derived from the Greek words epi meaning "upon" and demos meaning "people." Epidemics are generally classified as infectious diseases that occur upon people in a community during a specific time and at a faster rate than what health officials might expect. A pandemic is an epidemic that reaches global proportions, while an endemic is a disease like malaria or cholera that mainly occurs in a specific region or among a specific population (Wikipedia, 2008).

Most infectious diseases are spread in many ways; however, the most common way is through direct contact with an infected person or animal. For example, mothers can pass diseases to unborn babies as in the case with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Infectious diseases are also spread when germs linger on objects we touch daily, such as doorknobs, light switches, or toys. A person naturally rubs their eyes or sticks their finger in their mouth and the rest is history. Infectious diseases are also airborne and spread through food, animals, and insects known as vectors.

Non-infectious epidemics are usually the direct result of dysfunction in our daily lives or within our social networks. Societal epidemics include substance abuse and suicide.

Twenty-First Century Epidemics
Historically, mankind has seen its share of epidemics or plagues. The Bubonic plague, also called the Black Death, killed roughly 25-75 million people in the fourteenth century. Other epidemics in North America included smallpox, measles, yellow fever, and more recently, HIV/AIDS and other STDs. What many people do not know, however, is that obesity is now considered a national epidemic.

According to Trust for America's Health report F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2008, Alabama has the third highest rate of obesity in the nation among adults at 30.1 percent and the eleventh highest rate of obesity among youth ages 10-17 at 16.7 percent.

Prevention
The Mayo Clinic (2007) offers these practical solutions to help stop the spread of infectious diseases:

• Wash your hands. It is particularly important to wash your hands before and after preparing food, after eating, and after using the restroom.
• Get your shots. Being immunized helps to reduce your chances of getting diseases. Make sure your loved ones get their shots as well.
• Take meds as prescribed. Medication such as antibiotics help fight infections, but make sure you take them and other prescriptions as directed by your physician.
• Stay home if sick. To avoid infecting others, stay home if you are vomiting, have a fever, or are experiencing diarrhea.
• Prepare food wisely. Clean countertops when cooking and make sure you refrigerate leftover food immediately.
• Practice safe sex. Use condoms or avoid engaging in risky sexual behavior.
• Make sure pets are healthy too. Remember fleas and ticks can spread infectious diseases, so make sure your pets are vaccinated and well groomed.

People are the heart of epidemics and many lives have already been lost over the centuries. We owe it to ourselves and those we love to monitor our behavior, practice safe hygiene, and do as the doctor ordered!

Mayo Clinic. (July 20, 2007). Infectious diseases: How they spread, how to stop them. Infectious Disease. Retrieved October 10, 2008.

Trust for America's Health. (August 2008). F as in fat: How obesity policies are failing in America 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.

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