Communicable Diseases: Childhood & Travelers (V2)

Course overview

Providers must be knowledgeable about the communicable disease process, how to protect themselves, prevent the continued transmission, and provide the best care. All patients, regardless of age, can carry and transmit a disease. Obtaining a good history, including a travel history is important. Infectious disease expert Katherine West reminds us that the spread of disease is not new, but how we handle the outbreaks and the spread of diseases is critical. She reviews the current influenza threat from the H1N1 virus and our response to it. She emphasizes that critical to patient care is the need for good understanding of the diseases and recognizing the signs and symptoms of specific diseases, and knowing what precautions to take. Its also important to know the vaccination habits of our community members. The U.S. has an excellent vaccination program; however, this is not true in many other countries. Visitors or residents new to your community may not adhere to vaccination recommendations for a variety of reasons. Instructor Bob Waddell also shares with us information on the EMS responders role as a public health advocate. He reminds us that the EMS provider is in a unique position to be one of the first to recognize patterns or trends of illnesses in the community, and to help prevent a larger outbreak of a communicable disease.