Global Diseases Case Study

If the movement of people, food, and manufactured goods can have such a negative impact on public health, should steps be taken to reduce these flows? What other options are there for lowering the spread of global diseases?

I don't think it is necessary to add restrictions to the movement of people and goods, in the name of prevention, where there is no identified threat. In situations where there is a known threat, necessary precautions should be taken. For instance, an American missionary traveling to Africa, to serve in an area with high occurrence of Malaria, should be immunized against or otherwise treated, in order to prevent them from contracting Malaria. In addition, they could be checked for symptoms prior to leaving Africa, and again upon return to the United States. When an outbreak of an infectious disease occurs, quarantines should be observed and travel into, or out of, the area should be suspended. Containment is key to minimizing the spread of infectious diseases. …show more content…
What measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of these diseases?

Many developing nations contribute to the global food market, though growing conditions and food processing standards are poor. When foods are grown in a region where access to clean water is an issue, foods can be contaminated simply through irrigation practices. Food crops can be contaminated by poor sanitation practices during processing of crops and animal products. While minimum standards for sanitation should be adopted, inspection by outside sources might be a better way to prevent contaminated products from reaching consumers. Depending upon geography and infrastructure, export crops can make many stops on the journey from the field to the consumer. It's critical to establish inspection, and traceability of origin and time, at each juncture to minimize the risks of spreading contaminated