Abstract
This paper provided a clear cut definition of pandemic as a disease that are widespread, spanning through borders of the world, affecting large populations. The new coronavirus is a pandemic that emerged in Wuhan, China as case of unidentified etiology. Global pandemics in the time past saw the emergence of debilitating diseases such as Bubonic Plague, Small Pox, Spanish flu, Hong Kong flu, H7N9, SARS, Zika virus, Ebola virus, H1N1 influenza virus and most recently COVID-19. The incidence, the spread, conspiracy theories and management/eradication of COVID-19 influenced the global politics on COVID-19. The paradigmatic approach to the novel coronavirus underscore the inadequacies, challenges and indifferences of government to health care sector pre- COVID-19 era. Strict adherence to guidelines by WHO and CDC is a major public health intervention to tackle COVID-19. Some of the public health approach to diminish COVID-19 are effective response measures, upscale testing, improved quarantine system and public enlightenment. Effort should made by agencies in the front line of vaccine production to speed up development of safe and effective vaccines and work with Government to ensure fair and equitable allocation of these vaccines to the populace. Plant based therapy for the treatment and management of COVID-19 should be investigated and promoted. If we must win the war against COVID-19, all countries under the United Nations should bridge the gap in knowledge sharing with regards to research into vaccine and drugs to combat the deadly coronavirus.
Highlights
The word pandemic is a term used to describe disease condition or epidemic with wide geographic area affecting large populations of the word (Last, 2001)
The diseases reported by World Health Organization (WHO) as pandemic include Hong Kong flu, Spanish flu, H7N9, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Zika virus, Ebola (Rewar et al, 2015), H1N1 influenza virus (Morens et al, 2009a) and most recently COVID-19 (WHO, 2019)
Effectiveness of Response Measures The non-pharmaceutical measures for COVID-19 have helped to reduce the explosion of the disease by more than 50%
Summary
The word pandemic is a term used to describe disease condition or epidemic with wide geographic area affecting large populations of the word (Last, 2001). The Black Death was assumed to have originated in Asia and was carried by rodents and fleas on merchant ships, person to person contact led to very fast inland spread at the time It killed large number of people in Europe, and Asia. The 18th century outbreak of small pox lead to the development of “variolation” a process whereby materials from small pox sores (Pustules) were scratched into the arm or inhaled causing individuals to acquire resistance to the disease, if they had gotten the disease naturally (CDC, 2003) This phenomenon gave rise to the basis for development of vaccination. Spanish Flu Spanish flu of 1918 – 1920 caused by H1N1 influenza virus was regarded as a notable pandemic of 20th Century (Viboudet al., 2012) It affected more than 500 million persons worldwide, killing about 50 – 100 million people. Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in 2013 affecting 10 countries with 28,646 cases, and 11,323 deaths (WHO, 2006)
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