World Health Day

HAPPY WORLDS HEALTH DAY 2014

The World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors the celebration of World Health Day on April 7 every year. The First World Health Assembly held by the WHO was in 1948. It declared that April 7 would be celebrated as World Health Day every year to mark the founding as well as to ensure that health concerns are also highlighted among the society.

Some objectives of the World Health Day campaign are to:

·         raise awareness about global health issues.

·         provide information on how to keep themselves safe from its complications;

·      encourage adults to get their regular medical check-up done and also follow the advice of healthcare professionals;

·         help highlight pressing health concerns

·         encourage Self-care 

·         To maintain hygiene and cleanliness in and around their surroundings.

·  To incite national and local authorities to create enabling environments for healthy environment.

Each year a theme is selected that highlights a priority area of public health. This Day provides an opportunity for individuals in every community to get involved in activities that can lead to better health.

THE TOPIC FOR 2014 IS VECTOR – BORNE DISEASES.

What are vector-borne diseases?

"Vector-borne disease" is the term commonly used to describe an illness caused by an infectious microbe that is transmitted to people by blood-sucking blood. Such insects are also called vectors. Vectors typically become infected by a disease agent while feeding on infected vertebrates (e.g., birds, rodents, other larger animals, or humans), and then pass on the microbe to a susceptible person or other animal. The insects that most commonly serve as vectors include:

1.) Blood sucking insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, lice, biting flies and bugs.

2.) Blood sucking arachnids such as mites and ticks. 

Some most common examples of vector-borne diseases are dengue fever, viral encephalitis, Lyme disease, malaria etc.

We as an individual should focus on utilizing preventative methods to control or eliminate vector populations.

Prevention

Prevention requires A, B, C, D and E.

·         Awareness of risk.

·        Bite avoidance.

·       Chemoprophylaxis (taking preventive medicines if travelling to or living in a malaria region).

·        Diagnosis made promptly with early treatment of an infected case.

·        Emergency treatment with safe drugs.

Ways to protect yourself and your family

• wear a good repellent– particularly during daylight hours when the dengue mosquito is most active
• ensure window and door screens are in good condition
• use mosquito coils or plug-in mosquito repellent devices
• Wear long, loose clothing to help protect yourself from bites.

It is very important for everyone to participate in stopping dengue mosquitoes breeding around their homes. All it takes is one person with dengue fever in your neighborhood to be bitten by a dengue mosquito, and then that mosquitoes can start infecting other people with the virus.

Prevention at home:

It is important to remember that we should never let anyone break the rules of prevention of mosquito breeding. To reduce your risk of getting any such vector disease, just remember these three simple steps: Tip It, Store It, and Throw It.

1. Tip out water from things like pot plant bases, plastic containers, tarpaulins, tin cans or buckets.
2. Store anything that can hold water undercover or in a dry place, including tyres, gardening equipment, toys, buckets, trailers or boats.
3. Throw out any rubbish lying around your yard like leaves in gutters, fallen palm fronds and unused containers or tyres.