Acute and Chronic Infectious Diseases Have a Seasonal Pattern

Acute and Chronic Infectious Diseases Have a Seasonal Pattern Infectious diseases can be seasonal. Studies such as this can be made more efficient with accurate documentation provided by a medical transcription service.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) highlights the fact that 3 out of the top 10 causes of death worldwide in 2016 were infectious diseases. Even though the number of deaths caused by infectious diseases has declined since 2000, these still caused 5.5 million deaths globally in 2016. Just as for any other diseases, documentation is important for these conditions and most physicians rely on medical transcription companies to ensure this. The general impression we have about infectious diseases is that they occur throughout the year. However, a group of researchers have found something significant. They say there is a seasonal pattern for some infectious diseases that correspond with seasons or other annual conditions. The mechanisms behind this seasonality of many infectious diseases such as influenza are not completely understood, though.

A new study published on November 8, 2018 in the journal PLOS Pathogens, investigated recorded seasonal cycles of human infections, and put forward the view that all infectious diseases outbreaks have a seasonality caused by varying factors.

The study highlighted the fact that we are familiar with outbreaks of influenza

in winter and chickenpox in the spring, and pointed

to

evidence suggesting that each acute infectious disease has its own seasonality which can vary among geographic locations and is different from

other diseases within the region. The study was based on 69

infectious diseases’ data including neglected tropical diseases, collected from the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 4 drivers of seasonal outbreaks were studied— environmental factors, host behavior, host phenology, and exogenous biotic factors. The study found that apart from acute infectious diseases, outbreaks of chronic infectious diseases such as hepatitis B virus and HIV/AIDS also occur at greater regularity during certain times of the year.

An important thing to understand is that many infectious diseases could have a common seasonal driver while differing widely in multiple aspects www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com

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of their biology. This research provides the public health community the much needed insight into the role of seasonality in infectious disease outbreaks, which has been by and large overlooked. If the role of seasonality is better understood, public health officials can develop new interventions much ahead of disease seasons – individuals can be monitored for symptoms of chronic infections, and symptoms can be more intensely treated ahead of anticipated outbreak seasons. In the case of acute infections that have their highs and lows, vaccination campaigns and other preventive measures can be taken.

Emerging technologies make detection and quantification of infections easier, with speed and sensitivity. Documentation of these conditions is also more efficient with the EHR system

and

EHR-integrated

medical

transcription

service.

Advancements in medical technology and a skilled transcription team can strengthen your medical documentation and provide the necessary data to researchers investigating various health conditions.

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