Top 10 List of Uncontrollable Risk Factors for Infectious Diseases

According to CDT Minnesota Department of Health (2007), Radon is a radioactive gas – that means it continuously decays and releases radiation. It is produced from minerals in soil, such as uranium and radium. Although radon is present throughout the environment, when high levels are present indoors people are exposed to more of its radiation and their risk of cancer increases. Such a situation can be discovered easily and corrected.

POLLUTION

Public transportation / save energy / write letters

POLLUTION is the introduction of POLLUTANTS (whether chemical substances, or energy such as noise, heat, or light) into the environment to such a point that its effects become harmful to human health, other living organisms, or the environment (Wikipedia, 2007).

SMOG

Use vehicle wisely / shut engine off when waiting

SMOG is a kind of air pollution; the word “smog” is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area and is caused by a mixture of smoke and sulphur dioxide.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Notify government / wear protection / choose employer

Sanitize workstations.

According to Preston City Council (2006), Infection at Work: Controlling the Risk – A guide for employers and self employed on identifying, assessing and controlling the risk of infection in the workplace. (Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens)

Blood-borne viruses in the work place – Guide for employers and employees (HSE)

Controlling the Risk of Infection at Work from Human Remains – A Guide for Those involved in Funeral Services (Including embalmers) and those involved in exhumation (HSE)

RAPE

Notice & be aware / escort & get escorted / self-defense

A sexually transmitted disease, or STD, is an infection that can be passed from one person to another through sexual contact or skin-to-skin contact.

i.e.) HIV, Genital Warts, Pubic Lice and etc.

PLAUSIBILITY FACTOR

Regularly intensive check-ups / live healthy

Hyaluronidase represents a plausible virulence factor. Unfortunately, the investigators did not directly measure this enzyme activity in their isolates. It is worrisome that the promiscuous enterococcus seems able to procure not only antibiotic resistance, but also virulence factors from other streptococci. The belly of the beast, namely the intensive care unit, may soon bring us more surprises. The HYALURONIDASES are a family of enzymes that degrade hyaluronic acid. In most mammalian fertilization, hyaluronidase is released by the acrosome of the sperm cell after it has reached the oocyte, by digesting proteins in the zona pellucida, thus enabling conception (Haburchak, 2003).

UV-RAY EXPOSURE

Avoid prolonged sun exposure / wear & apply protection

The harmful effects from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be classified as acute or chronic. The acute effects of UV-A and UV-B exposure are both short-lived and reversible. These effects include mainly sunburn (or erythema) and tanning (or pigment darkening). The chronic effects of UV exposure can be much more serious, even life threatening, and include premature aging of the skin, suppression of the immune system, damage to the eyes, and skin cancer (Exposure to Environmental Hazards, 2003).

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC EXPOSURE

Check for EMC compatibility / don’t buy houses close to power lines

More and more studies are showing serious adverse health effects caused by electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Completed research now includes multiple studies that have linked power lines with childhood cancers; computer exposure with miscarriages; and EMF exposure of workers in high-exposure occupations (such as electrical workers) with cancer and congenital problems in their children. Over 90 studies have also concluded that mobile phones cause cancers and have cardiac, reproductive and neurological effects (Doube, 2002).

WRONG MEDICATION

Get second opinion / ask questions

Medical Malpractice Attorney Source (2006) stated, “In 2002, approximately 100,000 people were given the wrong medication from a medical professional. 7,000 people were killed because they were given the wrong medication. Administering the wrong medication to a patient is one of the leading types of medical negligence that causes serious injury and illness. Wrong medication can lead to serious problems for the victims of this type of medical negligence. Wrong medicine administration is one of the best tracked medical errors and can occur in hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, and in home care”.

References

Doube, C. (2002). Electromagnetic exposure: real risks or paranoia?. New Internationalist.

Retrieved November 10, 2007, from BNET Research Center

Medical Malpractice Attorney Source. (2006). Wrong Medication. eJustice.com. Retrieved

November 10, 2007, from http://www.medical-malpractice-attorney-source.com/

CDT Minnesota Department of Health. (2007). Radon. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from

http://www.health.state.mn.us/index.html

Wikipedia. (2007). Pollution. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution

Haburchak. D. R. (2003). Infectious Diseases, March 2003. Journal Scan. Retrieved November

10, 2007, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450101

Exposure to Environmental Hazards. (2003). Harmful Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation.

Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://enhs.umn.edu/5103/uv/harmful.html

Preston City Council. (2006). Infectious Diseases, Biological Agents and Zoonosis. Retrieved

November 10, 2007, from http://www.preston.gov.uk/GeneralR.asp?id=SX9452-

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