Articles: pandemics.
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J Bus Contin Emer Plan · Jan 2020
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak: Now is the time to refresh pandemic plans.
This article outlines practical steps that businesses can take now to prepare for a pandemic. Given the current growing spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world, it is imperative that businesses review their pandemic plans and be prepared in case this epidemic expands and affects more people and communities. ⋯ Pandemics can not only interrupt an organisation's operations and compromise long-term viability of an enterprise, but also disrupt the provision of critical functions. Businesses that regularly test and update their pandemic plan can significantly reduce harmful impacts to the business, play a key role in protecting employees' and customers' health and safety, and limit the negative impact of a pandemic on the community and economy.
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The previously described overfat pandemic, estimated to be 62-76% worldwide, is comprised of individuals with excess body fat sufficient to impair health. The overfat condition is common in those who are overweight and obese, and can also occur in significant numbers of normal-weight non-obese individuals. Being overfat increases the risk for a wide spectrum of common cardiovascular and metabolic (cardiometabolic) abnormalities, chronic diseases and physical impairment. ⋯ In addition to the rates of overfat outpacing overweight and obesity, non-White populations outnumber Whites 6:1, with the recently estimated overfat prevalence being low when considering ethnicities such as Asians, Chinese, Africans and Latin Americans, including these individuals living among predominantly White populations. An awareness of the extent of the overfat pandemic is important because excess body fat can precede cardiometabolic risk factors, chronic diseases, and physical disabilities, and can reduce quality of life and increase healthcare expenditure. The purpose of this Perspective is to demonstrate that the global overfat prevalence of 62-76% may be considerably underestimated.
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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a pandemic caused by a new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2. This disease was first identified in December 2019 and rapidly developed into a challenge to the public health systems around the world. In the absence of a vaccine and specific therapies, disease control and promotion of patient health are strongly dependent on a rapid and accurate diagnosis. This review describes the main laboratory approaches to making a diagnosis of COVID-19 and identifying those previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
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Epidemiology and health · Jan 2020
Analyzing the effects of social distancing on the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea using mathematical modeling.
During the 6 months since the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient was diagnosed in Korea on January 20, 2020, various prevention and control measures have been implemented according to the COVID-19 epidemic pattern. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the reproductive numbers (R) for each epidemic stage to analyze the effects of the preventive measures and to predict the COVID-19 transmission trends. ⋯ According to the estimated R, it had fallen to below 1 and was maintained at that level owing to the isolation of infected persons by the public health authorities and social distancing measures followed by the general public. Then, the estimated R increased rapidly as the contact among individuals increased during the long holiday period from April 30, 2020 to May 5, 2020. Thereafter, the value of R dropped, with the continued use of preventive measures but remained higher than 1.00, indicating that the COVID-19 outbreak can be prolonged and develop into a severe outbreak at any time.