Communicable and Infectious Disease

Communicable and Infectious Disease

            Diseases and health problems can be classified differently. The common classification approaches focus on the affected organ or system, causative agent and transmissibility. In terms of transmissibility, a disease can be either communicable or non-communicable. According to Merrill (2015), a communicable disease is transmitted from one person to another through a vector or intermediate host. Although many people use the terms infectious disease and communicable disease interchangeably, the terms have different technical meanings. An infectious disease develops when a pathogen invades the host. The disease may be contagious or non-contagious. A contagious infection is called a communicable disease. Therefore, while all communicable diseases are infectious diseases, not all infectious diseases are communicable. Examples of communicable diseases include cholera, typhoid, influenza, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. These diseases are classified as communicable because the infectious agents can be transmitted either directly or indirectly from the infected person to the healthy person. On the other hand, examples of infectious non-communicable diseases include tetanus, anthrax and Legionnaires’ disease. These diseases are given the identified classification because they occur when pathogens enter the body from the environment. However, they cannot spread from one person to another.

            Florida’s vaccination requirement for children and adolescents covers various diseases. The recommended vaccines are influenza, DTaP, MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis A and B, Rotavirus, Influenza, Pneumococcal, HPV, IPV and Meningococcal. These vaccinations are intended to prevent both communicable and infectious diseases. The communicable diseases prevented by the vaccines include Hepatitis A and B, measles, pertussis, diphtheria, influenza, mumps, rubella, rotavirus, chickenpox, meningitis, polio and human papillomavirus (Florida Department of Health, n.d.). On the other hand, the infectious non-communicable diseases prevented by the vaccines include tetanus, pneumonia and sepsis.

            There is no typical STI patient because an STI may be symptomatic and asymptomatic. Therefore, the patient may have an STI without exhibiting any clinical signs and symptoms. Such a patient may live with the disease without knowing it exists until complications set in. Furthermore, STI symptoms may be difficult to interpret due to the nonspecific or transient nature of the symptoms (Zenilman & Shahmanesh, 2011). The transient symptoms may appear and disappear spontaneously without treatment. On the other hand, the symptoms that persist may be too mild to produce any clear clinical symptoms of a disease. A physician cannot definitely associate the exhibiting symptoms with a specific STI without conducting a thorough assessment of the patient’s STI risks and laboratory tests. The long incubation period for many STIs increases the challenges of linking particular symptoms to a specific STI. Some of STIs with few or no symptoms include chlamydia, syphilis and HIV.

            The presence of an STI increases the risk of HIV transmission due to ulcers and discharges. According to Gross and Tyring (2011), ulcerative STIs such as syphilis and genital herpes cause the breakdown of the mucosal or skin surface. Consequently, a portal point of entry develops leading to increased risk of HIV infection. Furthermore, the concentration of HIV at the site of the ulcer increases due to increased replication of the virus cells at the site. Similarly, discharge STIs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia increase the risk that one will be exposed to HIV and other STIs. The inflammatory state resulting from the STI infection leads to an increased concentration of the HIV virus in the penile and vaginal discharges in the infected persons (Badger, 2012). Ulcerative STIs increase the risk of HIV transmission nine times while the discharge STIs increase the risk of infection by between three and nine times.

            Truvada is a pre-exposure prophylaxis taken by the at-risk persons to reduce their likelihood of contracting HIV. The drug contains two medications. These medications are tenofovir and emtricitabine. The medications block the pathways used by the HIV virus to infect the body. The drug is recommended for those at risk of exposure to HIV through sex or injection drugs. Persons who take Truvada consistently can reduce their risk of contracting HIV by up to 92 percent (CDC, 2018). Therefore, the drug is a highly effective HIV prevention method. The at-risk persons can enhance Truvada’s efficiency by combining the drug with other preventive methods such as condoms. However, the drug has several disadvantages. These disadvantages include increased risky behaviors, poor medication adherence and undesirable side effects. First, many users have the notion that Truvada provides 100 percent protection against HIV. Consequently, few people combine the drug with condoms and other recommend HIV prevention practices. The overreliance on Truvada introduces the probability of exposure to HIV even among the persons who use the drug consistently. Secondly, one must take Truvada every day to ensure optimal preventive benefits. This consistent use ensures the presence of sufficient medication in the bloodstream at any time (AIDSinfo, 2018). However, many users tend to take the drug when they think they have been exposed to the HIV virus. This inconsistency reduces the drug’s preventive effectiveness considerably. Thirdly, Truvada causes side effects such as stomach upset, headache, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. These side effects can discourage adherence and consistency among the intended users.