The unvaccinated woman got on a plane in London.\u00a0 She flew to Washington, DC, changed planes and flew to Denver, then on to Albuquerque, and from there drove home to Santa Fe.\u00a0 She had measles.<\/p>\n
During the trip she had exposed other passengers from all over the world to this disease.\u00a0 Preventing an epidemic involved 70 countries and four states, and cost $1 million, according to Dr. Chad Smelser, an epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health.<\/p>\n
A few other thought-provoking highlights from a recent presentation by Dr. Smelser:<\/p>\n
Many of us remember vividly the Hantavirus epidemic of 1993, when a few people died before the cause was discovered to be droppings from deer mice in certain rural areas. \u00a0\u00a0The disease caused not only the loss of lives but widespread fear, massive losses in tourism and even the cancellation of sports events in Northwest New Mexico.\u00a0\u00a0 From the first news reports to the discovery of the cause of the virus, I remember, took about six weeks.\u00a0 I thought at the time it was a wonder of modern science, and I still do.<\/p>\n
Infectious disease epidemiology is a function of government that gets no attention except when it is really needed.\u00a0 Then it is vital — and the program needs to be fully functional in order be ready to respond when when the threat occurs.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of criticism about government these days.\u00a0 While leaders talk about reducing inefficiency and waste, there isn\u2019t enough serious examination of the basic question of what\u2019s important and what\u2019s not.\u00a0 I could write a short list of programs that don\u2019t contribute much value to our citizens and taxpayers.\u00a0 Whether they are implemented well or badly, they might not be worth implementing at all.<\/p>\n
But some programs are vital to our public wellbeing.\u00a0 Managing infectious diseases is such a program, and it is critically linked to other programs that also function outside the limelight. \u00a0When a life-threatening disease breaks out, suddenly we can perceive the value of a guy whose government job was stomping through the sagebrush, collecting data about mice.<\/p>\n
I have argued elsewhere and will argue here that government should not rely on \u201cacross-the-board cuts\u201d or reducing personnel through \u201cvacancy savings.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 If the plague expert at the epidemiology bureau gets a better job somewhere else, \u00a0no \u201cacross the board\u201d hiring policy on earth would justify failing to recruit a replacement.<\/p>\n
Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2011<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The unvaccinated woman got on a plane in London.\u00a0 She flew to Washington, DC, changed planes and flew to Denver, then on to Albuquerque, and from there drove home to Santa Fe.\u00a0 She had measles. During the trip she had … Continue reading