Basic Medical Sciences can act as organized body or team so as to give
realistic responses to future pandemic consequently contain its deleterious effect.
With regards to this paper, it would be necessary to first, define and explain what a
pandemic is, its effect and consequence of impromptu response to it.
A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large geographical area, for instance continents or worldwide. It is important to note that a disease or condition is not a pandemic merely because it is widespread or kills many people; It must be infectious. For instance, cancer responsible for many deaths in several regions is not considered a pandemic because it is neither infectious or contagious. The effect of pandemic ranges from health to the socio-economic life of the people. Its degrading effects cannot be overemphasized once it emerges with no quick response to it. Impromptu response to a pandemic leaves an uneasily erasable mark on the walls of the social and economic status of the world at large. Consequences range from irreparable damage of human tissues and organs, loss of jobs to high rate of death. The consequences are more compared to what any inker pens down. So it is of great importance to apply practical approaches to any slight trace of a future pandemic than to sit and die experiencing outplay due to impromptu response to it. Pandemic imprints nothing but pang bagged by its consequences.
The Basic Medical Sciences can on their own small scale stifle any emerging or future pandemic by applying the following responses:
Public Awareness/Education on the Danger of a Pandemic: Basic Medical
Science can organize or create a platform for the education of the public on the
dangers of a pandemic. This is important as the uninformed or carefree public in
most cases are the victims of the first sting of an outbreak (with pandemic potential). This education or orientation program will induce in the public ways how to carefully relate with animate and inanimate objects as well as will make them live and act with the sense of always being on guard to avoid spread of the pandemic. Basic Medical Sciences should in this awareness programme extend their horizons to the uneducated and socially handicap people (mostly in rural areas). The education on the dangers of a pandemic should be communicated to people in this
category in the language best understood by them. In other words, sufficient and
efficient manpower should be made available so as to make sure that the
information is comprehensively decoded by all categories of people.
Furthermore, it is important to ensure that awareness programme like this
should be emphasized to the people, stating the consequences and fear that is
imminent if they are not informed. This also means that the Basic Medical Sciences will have to work in collaboration with the leadership of the of the locality to be educated so that the importance of the programme would be stressed to them. Education and awareness programme is very important as this will help the
public to live with the sense of carefulness and consciousness.
Approaches to Sanitized Environment: Basic Medical Sciences as a team that has to do with health on a good scale can ensure sanitized environment. Basic Medical Science can collaborate with other voluntary bodies and health agencies to ensure that the environment is kept clean. Keeping a sanitized environment is an approach that can ensure a pandemic free world. Pandemic is an epidemic that has become global and of course starts from a particular region; So if our primary environment is kept clean, the issue of a pandemic will remain in the realm of theory and not a reality. The untidy environment will serve as a building block or a catalyst of a pandemic.
Pandemic and its spread can also be caused by what we do to and how we interact
with our environment. It is important to note that the environment(untidy) helps in
the fast spread of a pandemic; This is so because humans have frequent interactions with their non-living environment in different ways. Researches made proved that the Human, Animal and Environmental health are interconnected. Keeping a sanitized environment is a sure positive response to a future pandemic.
Addressing the Human-animal Relationship: Addressing the human-animal
relationship in respect to a future pandemic will a far way help to prevent the sting
of its occurrence. Understanding the interactions between animals and humans is very critical in preventing the outbreak of a pandemic. In researches made lately,
there is substantial evidence of pathogen movement in domestic animals. A recent
survey of all recognized human pathogens that over half are zoonotic and nearly all
of the most important human pathogens originated as zoonosis before adapting to
humans. The three most devastating pandemics in human history, the black death, Spanish influenza and HIV/AIDS were caused by zoonoses. Underlying these
patterns are specific health challenges arising from the multi-host ecology of
animal infections. These complexities can be addressed by harnessing the integrative power and mechanistic insights attainable from analysis of population dynamic models of the animal-human transmission. Expressing to the public the risk factors attached to an unchecked animal-human relationship keep any oncoming pandemic unstaged. In as much as the relationship between humans, domestic animal and farm animals cannot be totally discouraged, it is of great important to keep these animals on a steady and regular health watch. There are lots of diseases with epidemic potentials that were traced from wildlife and
domestic animals (as exemplified by swine flu and avian flu) with greater risk occurring where humans interact. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic thought
to originate in a wildlife has shown enormous damage in the economy and progress of world. While preparation for a pandemic is a critically important health task, Basic Medical Science can help stress the risk factors for disease infection and
transmission at the animal-human interface because understanding these factors
may identify opportunities for disease prevention and outbreak containment.
Embark on Research Programmes: It is usually said, “knowledge is power”. The
place of knowledge cannot be occupied by any other factor in responding to a future pandemic. The Medical Science has to follow new trends in order to stifle any disease before it emerges and become widespread. The increasing threat of emerging and reemerging infectious disease outbreaks demand research and development strategy. Recent pandemics have highlighted gaping holes in our ability to make good research and deploy medical responses that will not only help identify and contain outbreaks, but care for those affected paradventure it emerges.
To ensure successful resolution of any future outbreak, Basic Medical Science must have a robust research programme. Readiness for infectious diseases (with
pandemic potential) requires investments in research in myriad discipline, including basic biomedical research to understand the symptomology of any suspected outbreak. In parallel, population policy and implementation research is needed to understand the delivery system that would work best for any future pandemic. In the issues pertaining to global emergencies, the Medical science has to be galvanized with the government and civil society to proffer necessary responses in order to successfully manage future. To build better defense against the threat of pandemics, we must need step up in our research scale. Research programme will go a long way to keep any pandemic and its injury unrealized.
The Basic Medical Science can singly and collaboratively work to prevent any oncoming pandemics. Proffering aids such as public awareness and education, ensuring clean environment and good research programme can make the
issue of pandemic remain a taught theory. Complementary response of the government and the general public would ensure any future pandemic a stay in the
realm of unreality.
