Preparedness for a Diseasae Outbreak
How Ready Are We for a Pandemic? We Asked an Infectious Disease Expert
This article discussed the probability of an upcoming disease outbreak. Despite countless advances in technology, we are still incredibly susceptible to diseases. Furthermore, some technology, such as antibiotics actutally increases the probability of a disease outbreak when it is used incorrectly. Currently, antibiotic resistance is at a crisis level, meaning there is a high risk of a disease outbreak. As it stands, the current administration is not adequately prepared for a disease outbreak. This is particularly troublesome because the world is long overdue for a major disease outbreak. It is estimated that the next viral disease outbreak will happen by 2070. With this approaching probability, it is important that policies are in place that is able to rapidly reduce the spread of a disease, each by decreasing the contact that sick individuals have with the healthy population, such as with quarantine, or by reducing the probability that an individual contacts a disease, such as vaccination.