Emerging viral infectious disease threat: Why Tanzania is not in a safe zone

Viral infections are often concerning and can lead to the outbreak of an epidemic, especially in developing countries.
The article "Emerging viral infectious disease threat: Why Tanzania is not in a safe zone" captures this situation. It gives an overview of the problem in relation to the likeliness of outbreak in Tanzania.

The authors argue that while Tanzania has been safe comparing to many African countries, it should take precaution and be ready incase of the outbreak of emerging infectious disease (EID). They list five viral infectious diseases that may possibly result in an outbreak in the future: Rift Valley fever, Influenza H1N1, Rubella, HIV1 and Dengue and Chikungunya. The authors conclude with recommendations to help this outbreak should be taken place, such as: training employees in the healthcare industry to detect potential EID symptoms in their early stages and community-based surveillance systems etc.


The provision given by the authors is similar to another article I came across earlier this week: The collision of civil war and threat of global pandemics

This article examines the role of civil war in spreading infectious diseases. It also discusses the inability of healthcare systems and health practitioners in determining the early symptoms of an epidemic in patients. Gathering and organizing data in a sufficient matter is also a challenge, as these regions often lack the proper technology or equipment.

Both articles indicate a very similar message: adopting an early precautionary practice is a suitable approach in avoiding the outbreaks of infectious disease, especially in developing countries, where the necessary tools may not be present. This is especially important in cases of countries (such as Tanzania) that may not appear to be in immediate danger; its critical to recognize the potential danger in the long-term and take the appropriate measures to prevent such circumstance.

Culture Clash: Shona (Zimbabwean) Migrant Women’s Experiences with Communicating about Sexual Health and Wellbeing across Cultures and Generations

As they settle in their new homes, newcomer migrants experience many cultural differences. For example, communication of health issues within family members- specifically sexual health, is an arena that differs from one country to another. Topics of sexual health is a taboo in some cultures and is often not discussed as freely within family members, especially between parents and children. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in developing countries.

The dynamics of the situation is different in developed countries, many of which promote a more open-dialogue approach when it comes to discussion of sexual health between parents and their children. Tinashe Dune and Virginia Mapedzahama’s article “Culture Clash: Shona (Zimbabwean) Migrant Women’s Experiences with Communicating about Sexual Health and Wellbeing across Cultures and Generations” address this problem. Specifically, it examines cases of 14 Shona (Zimbabwean) women living in Australia between ages 29-53.

Dune and Mapedzahama discovered that Shona women found it difficult to disclose information related to sexual health to their children. However, there was an effort of integrating policies of both worlds: the open Australian dialogue versus the more reserved attitude of their country of origin.  The study aims to find a comprising solution that can satisfy this problem, particularly in the cases of cross-cultural adolescents, who had been brought up in both environments (referred to as “1.5 generation”).

Based on their analysis, the authors’ findings conclude that better health policies need to be administered. Specifically, current policies need to be redesigned to cater to migrant parents. Although resources and guidelines exist to help parents, these resources do not suit the needs of migrant parents. The authors conclude on the note of making communication of sexual health more accessible and clear for not only the parents, but also the 1.5 generation. They note that current health policies in multicultural developed countries with a large migrant population (such as Australia) can be improved to suit the needs of cross-cultural youth.