The Ebola Virus: An Epidemic

For the last unit in my Disease class, my classmates and I focused on epidemics and pandemics. We learned about different epidemics and pandemics through out history, and compared it to today's world, seeing how it could be stooped or even spread. For our final action project we looked at epidemics from the past o present and wrote an essay regarding how it spread, started, and the end result. We also calculated some specifics for our disease, detailed in my project below. Overall this project turned out successful, in spite of some difficult obstacles, I overcame them all. Enjoy my project below!

Ebola, or the hemorrhagic fever is an infectious disease that causes internal bleeding, high fevers, and even death. The Ebola virus has been around for a long time. In the Congo, back in 1976, a nun got infected with the disease, calling it ‘’the Marburg Virus”. Not knowing what exactly this disease was, scientist treated it as a common virus. After seeing blood samples under a microscope scientists saw what looked like a worm. Fast forward to 2014, countries such as: Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are now infected with this disease. The disease is caused by, bush meat. Bush meat or wild meat is non-domesticated animals that are being hunted in often tropical or jungle like areas.

Countries currently effected  

Another cause of this disease is poor sanitation systems located in each area. Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia all lack poor sanitation systems.  The people of these countries have no where to dispose their waste therefore they put it in rivers and, streams. People then use these rivers and streams to clean their household items, which causes them to become ill. The common symptoms for this disease are; Diarrhea, Nausea/Vomiting, stomach pain, chest pain/bleeding from the eyes,nose, and bruising, chills/weakness joint, and muscle aches. Ebola is an epidemic, therefore people with Ebola have a high R Nought. An R Nought is a basic reproduction number for any disease or outbreak. The R Nought for Ebola is, 1.5 to 2.5 meaning, For every one person who has Ebola, 1.5 to 2.5 people get infected. This R Nought is high therefore it is classified as an epidemic.

Ebola has started to spread because, villagers do not have access to clean meats. These people have to kill undomesticated animals in order to survive which is not their fault in my opinion. Theses people also do not have clean sanitation facility access. Sierra leones sanitation access percentage is a constant 13 percent, from 2004 to 20014. This means that out of all the population of Sierra Leone only 13 percent have access to clean sanitation facilities. This number is below average for access to sanitation facilities . These factors have affected the people of, not only Sierra Leone, but Guinea and Liberia. By having poor sanitation it highers the risk of people getting sick.

Risk Factors for Ebola(AMK 2015)

Many candidates for the Ebola vaccine have been developed, but they have not been approved for humans. According to the FDA (Food and Drug administration), drug Testers around the world have been testing drugs on non-primates, only to find out it does not work. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson (FDA) have been researching since the outbreak became a worldwide issue. Since this outbreak was unexpected, many people were not prepared for it. The FDA has yet to come up with a vaccine, saying they will announce the best one in August of 2015. The aid for these countries were family members because some did  could not afford medical care. Therefore, people must  care for their family members in risk of getting themselves sick. Since these countries now have help with preventing this disease, they are being taught the proper sanitation ways. Also other countries are now testing everyone who enters for Ebola so others won't get infected with the disease. People of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia must be provided with the right tools in order to survive. I believe that providing these countries with another food option rather than bush meat will go a long way to prevent this deadly disease from occurring again. I also think more sanitation facilities should be a common thing throughout these countries. Lastly I think that they should have classes on what is proper sanitation, and how to prevent getting something such as the Ebola virus.



Citations:

June–October 2014." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.

"2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Case Counts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"Ebola: The Worldwide Epidemic." SQ Online. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian

AMK

Forbidden Books

3/18/15          

 Our final action project for my class, Forbidden Books consisted of, writing an essay based on a censored or banned book chosen by our teacher. In unit three we talked about, diversity. First we defined diversity, then we used this understanding of diversity to write the essay for our book. The book I chose was, The Absolutely True Diary Of  a Part Time Indian . This books challenges diversity from the perspective of a teenager. I thought that this book was very interesting, and even funny. The author shows racial differences through comedy which, causes controversy. This essay was somewhat challenging because I had to show most levels of intolerance throughout this book. Overall I think it was a very interesting action project, enjoy!

Sleepwalking Disability

For our Disease course we decided to look more into mental disorders.The purpose of this project was to stimulate someone who does not have a mental disorder and put them in a person who does have a mental disorders shoes. For my project I decided to choose sleepwalking. Sleepwalking is a behavioral disorder where people perform activities such as walking around the house or even leaving their home while still sleeping. Sleepwalking is commonly found in kids rather than adults. Scientifically, sleepwalking is a behavior disorder that originates during deep sleep and results in walking or performing other complex behaviors while asleep, it is also  more likely to occur if a person is sleep deprived. Because a sleepwalker typically remains in deep sleep throughout the episode, he or she may be difficult to awaken and will probably not remember the sleepwalking incident. I decided to do this project on sleepwalking because, although it is a disorder people tend to brush it off as a phase, sleepwalking can also go into account of sleep terrors, or even harming someone all while unconscious.

A person who sleepwalks often has no memory of doing it, but Antonio Zarda, a blogger says that, ''There is a significant proportion of sleepwalkers who remember there sleepwalking, and say they have reasonable explanations for it''. Some cases of sleepwalking can be mild such as going to the kitchen and washing their hands to the other extreme such as actually committing a crime like murder. Some people don’t understand how severe sleepwalking can be because they haven't experienced it themselves. For someone who doesn't have sleepwalking disorder, or does not understand what it and feels like, I created a simulation just to get an idea of what it feels like. I think I would have to take things easily and show some empathy with sleepwalkers because they themselves are not aware of what they do therefore we cannot blame them. I know not to wake a sleepwalker because they can panic. Sleepwalking cases are almost not that  severe but you should always take precaution with a person who has it. Down below are my fliers, as well as my agenda!

Why? (GQ)	What does it feel like to sleepwalking ?	Time
How?	How will I guide my classmates to experience these feelings? At the end of this lesson, students will have: Role-played with a person simulating characteristics of sleepwalking Reflected on how they felt by drawing or writing a brief explanation Identified actions they can take to support a loved one, co-worker, or other person living with sleepwalking disorder	5
What? Agenda & Content	How will I guide my classmates to experience these feelings? Intro: I will first blindfold my classmates, and ask them to put in earplugs next I will spin them around a few times to feel out of place. Then I will ask them to go to a certain spot in the room where they have to get an object and accomplish it without looking although most sleepwalkers sleepwalk with their eyes open I want them to feel somewhat out of place to experience what it is like Simulation - Which criteria for this disorder needs to be highlighted? Confusion mumbled speech wandering Debrief Do’s and Don’ts -Don’t try and help guide or help the sleepwalker, we want them to feel out of place and confused.	5
Closure	Reflection (Writing) How might you respond differently to someone living with the disorder you studied? What will you do differently when you see sleepwalking occurring in others? How did it make you feel to lose two of your five senses?	3
Materials	Blindfolds Earbuds Paper Pens

_LINKS_____

http://www.behavioralconnections.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=589

http://girightshotline.org/en/military-knowledge-base/topic/other-designated-physical-and-mental-conditions-discharge

http://www.sleepmanagement.md/sleepdisorders/sleepwalking.aspx

Citations:

1."Sleep Disorder Symptoms - Sleepwalking Disorder - Sleep Disorders." Sleep Disorder Symptoms - .Sleepwalking Disorder - Sleep Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.

2."GI Rights Hotline." Atom. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.

3.

"Sleep Walking / Talking." Sleep Management. N.p., 20210. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.

Arab Spring

For my second action project for Forbidden Books, my classmates and I dove deep into religion. We looked at at three of the most popular religions Islam,Christianity, and Judaism. We also looked at books that were banned around that time and focused on the reasoning behind that. We had many field experiences to better our knowledge of each religion and its context.For this action project my classmates and I had to pick a specif country and time period about banning of a certain book and what events led up to that. My project is on 2010-2012 Arab Spring movement through out the Middle East and parts of North Africa. The people were getting censored due to the powerful dictators in their countries also prohibiting them from things such as their basic human rights. I think that these people stood up for what they believed and ended up winning! Down below is my project, enjoy!


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