Analysis

Discuss about the Towards Elimination For Measles Susceptibility in Australia and 17 European Countries?

Both Measles and Pertussis are infectious diseases that mostly affect small kids. Measles affects the body of the children and Pertussis is a strong cough that can remains up to 100 days. Both the diseases are present in Australia and other parts of the world. In terms of global environment, it can be said that the problem and issues with these diseases is more grave and serious in developing world as compared to developed world. The good thing with these diseases is that none of these diseases in incurable. There exist vaccinations in the market that should be given to children. The vaccinations are widely available in Australian and other markets. It is often said that vaccination is more effective in case of Pertussis as compared to Measles. The vaccination of both the diseases can help to develop a system immune to the bacteria of these diseases (Siedler, 2008). There exist some fundamental differences in these two diseases. The differences exist in terms of the attack of the attack from these diseases and the after-effects and the risks. The objective of this paper is to compare and contrast thee two infectious diseases. The analysis of these two diseases is done based on clinical manifestations, incidence or occurrence within Australia and worldwide, transmission and risk of acquisition to Health Care Workers (HCW) etc.

One of the interesting facts about the health and safety of children in Australia is that, although the overall proportion of young children fully immunized against the major infectious diseases has increased, the proportion of six year olds in 1989-90 who were fully immunized against whooping cough (pertussis) had decreased since 1983. With respect to Measles, it can be said that awareness about this disease has increased in Australia and people are more cautious about this disease (Franklin, 2011). Today, people are informed about Measles and they would want their kids to take vaccination. Some of the point of differences between Measles and Pertussis can be discussed as:

It can be said that the awareness levels of Measles in Australia is higher than the awareness levels of Pertussis. One of the reasons for this is the fact that Measles is a dangerous diseases and it take a lot of time to recover from Measles. Moreover, this disease also leaves a lot of scars on the body that may even look bad for months. Therefore, parents are particularly cautious about this disease and their objective is to ensure that their kids should take vaccination in the early age only. Pertussis is often connected to the cough in kids. It can be said that it is often difficult to diagnose this disease unless it reaches an alarming stage. The awareness level of Pertussis in Australia is not as high as awareness level of Measles. However, several healthcare communities have acknowledged the importance of this awareness and they have initiated several awareness programs and campaigns to spread the word about this disease.

Awareness level in Australia

One of the important differences between these two diseases is the time when vaccination is provided. The vaccination for Pertussis is typically provided at the age of 2 months and the vaccination for Measles is usually provided at the age of 12 months. The vaccination of Measles requires some internal resistivity from individuals, therefore this vaccine is provided at the age of 12 months (McIntyre, 2007). There are different levels of vaccination and immunity for Measles and Pertussis. It is important that kids should get the complete vaccination for both of these diseases. The complete vaccination for Measles in Australia is in good stage as compared to complete vaccination for Pertussis. The patients for these diseases are generally kids that exhibits the same nature and behavior.

It can be said that government of Australia realizes the seriousness of both these diseases.  One of the interesting facts is that between 1983 and 1989-90, due to the introduction of a combined measles/mumps vaccination, there was a rise in the proportion of six year olds fully immunized against measles (Palasanthiran, 2009). However, during the same period there was a decline in the proportion fully immunized against whooping cough. At a global or international level, it can be said that Australia is placed better than several other countries where Measles and Pertussis is a serious threat. The incidence or occurrence of these diseases has reduced in Australia. It is expected that this reduction would continue in future. It can be said that the information, education and awareness have played a key role to reduce the incidence or occurrence of these diseases within Australia. The government has realized the importance of education and awareness levels and it has developed and launched several programs and plans along with private players and non-profit organizations (Aratchige, 2008). Today, the good thing is that the vaccination of both of these diseases is easily available. The only differentiating factor is that it is difficult to analyze the factors responsible for Pertussis. In this disease parents of the kid have to be more cautious.

One of the most important stakeholders in any plan associated with the vaccination or treatment of Measles and Pertussis are health care workers. These are the people who would work day and night to ensure that kids do not become affected to this disease and even if they become they get the best treatment (Durrheim, 2007). With respect to Measles it can be said that it is highly contagious disease. It is always risky for health care workers to treat or to provide support to kids affected with Measles. The same is the case with Pertussis as this disease is also highly contagious disease. This disease also posses certain challenges and risks to healthcare workers. It is important that all the healthcare workers should have taken vaccination for these diseases, as these diseases could also be life threatening for healthcare workers.

It can be said that the community in Australia is aware about the harmful affects of these diseases. Community is aware and agile. In the last decade or so, social networking channels have also increase the awareness levels of community. Today, the schools also play an important role to spread the message about the importance of vaccinations in schools. The resistivity of small kids is generally low and there is a chance for this disease to spread in school or open environment. Therefore every parent should accept its moral responsibility to get their kids vaccinated for Measles and Pertussis. Both of these diseases are not the new diseases in the society. Australian government has also provided complete support to community in order to develop programs and plans to increase the awareness level. There is a community interaction plan that is typically developed for women in Australia. The community can find out about the Measles disease by looking at the body of the child but normal people often find it difficult to diagnose Pertussis among kids (Gidding, 2009). It is important that community members should help each other to spread and information and knowledge about these diseases. It is expected that the condition of Australian community can be further improved with effective and efficient communication plan.

Conclusion

The above paper discussed the disease of Measles and Pertussis in Australian context. With the above discussion it can be said that both of these diseases are highly contagious that influences the life of kids as well as the life of healthcare workers. Generally these diseases are not life taking but there would be exception, especially with Pertussis because it is difficult to identify this disease in the beginning. One of the ways Australian community has moved forward and has overcome the issues of these diseases is by developing the vaccination for these diseases. The vaccination has ensured that kids can develop a resistivity among these viruses. It can be said that the risk associated with these diseases have certainly reduced in recent times but this risk has not been eliminated altogether. It is expected that Australian government would continue to support community and workers in order to completely eradicate these diseases.

References

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