Pandemics disrupt everything including the work-life balance and wellbeing of healthcare workers.

I have published an article on the wellbeing of palliative care workers during the covid-19 pandemic, that gives one a detailed insight into this.

Article Wellbeing of Palliative Care Workers During Covid-19 Pandemi...

infectious disease outbreaks have a huge impact on health systems and the well-being of the people affected in addition to responders themselves.

- First of all, they cause disruption to other health services provided. For example, during COVID-19, a lot of services for chronic diseases were disrupted and the focus was on more acute cases of the infectious disease.

- additionally, the public health measures taken, such as quarantine and physical distancing can have an impact on mental health.

That is why other aspects of health and well-being such as mental health should be considered during infectious disease outbreaks.

I published a paper about how mental health interventions could be integrated into outbreak response.

Preprint Integrating Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS) ...

Dear Blecious,

Very good question you rise.

Here, the impact of spread of infectious disease in other aspects of public health is huge and can be massive. It can affect other than public health sector.

The connection is:

1. Deteriorate individual health: this can causes septicemia and death

2. Spread in Community and country: epidemic, endemic and pandemic. Thus can infect myriad population irrespective of age and sex.

3. Compromise quality of life: as we know infectious disease affect target cell and organ of human body, if it spread in body it means body immunity system become weak and it lead to develop other diseases, it’s due to alteration of physiological functions of the body. Next to that long term illness can delop anxiety and depression.

4. Other than health sector affected by spread of infectious disease like;

i. Break down health service delivery system of a country

ii. Possibility to infect animal

iii. Possibility to contaminate soil, and other elements of environment

iv. Affect economy

Therefore, the impact of spread may turn near to sabotage and world already experience throw Covid-19 pandemic.

As everyone knows, illness can affect different aspects of life. Now, if the infectious disease is contagious, it has more effects on the person himself and on other people, for example, fear and anxiety in the transmission of the disease, economic issues, changing the role of people and changing the appetite and changing the outlook on life.

Infectious diseases have the power to have serious effects on the individual, society, countrywide and globally.

Having difficulty in accessing safe and fully sanitized food (economic difficulties may also affect the food sector),

The difficulty of supplying healthy water (especially in water-borne diseases), the inability to provide and benefit from adequate health services due to the increasing workforce of the health sector,

failure to meet social needs,

economic impacts,

international restrictions on travel and trade and the resulting inability to meet basic needs,

In addition to all these items, quarantine conditions and stigma concerns have negative effects on individual mental health.

Spread of infectious diseases can impact other aspects of public health such as Nutrition and Mental Health as follows:

a) Nutrition:

• Infections (such as bacteria, virus, fungi) can directly affect the gastrointestinal tract by causing inflammation and thereby impairing digestion and absorption of food into the body which may lead to wasting, anemia and other pathophysiological conditions.
• Infections, also, can indirectly affect gastrointestinal tract by transforming cells into malignant tumors (cancers) and thus leading to systemic effects of cancer such as cachexia, anemia, indigestion, anorexia nervosa, and/or discomfort during or after eating
• Infection can also affect the immune system and cause the immuoresponse against cells and tissues of the gastrointestinal system which will lead to the same signs and symptoms described above.

b) Mental Health:

• Infections (such as bacteria, virus, fungi) can directly involve the Central Nervous System (CNS) and lead to inflammatory conditions of the CNS such as Encephalomyelitis which can have direct effect to the mental health
• Infections causing granulomatous inflammation may cause symptoms and signs similar to intracranial space occupying lesions and thus affecting mental health.
• Infection can also affect the immune system and cause the immuoresponse against cells and tissues of the CNS such as Autoimmune encephalitis which can lead to mental health conditions
• Infections can also affect lead to mental health by affecting the nutritional status of the individual (refer to a) above)