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Conference Summary
Globalization, Women, and
Infectious Diseases1
Gillian Howey Kimura,*
Simon N. Mardel,† Paul Courtright,‡ and Susan Watts§
*Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA; †World
Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; ‡Tumaini University, Meshi,
Tanzania; and §American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Suggested
citation for this article
Globally, women bear the primary responsibilities for childrearing, caregiving,
water gathering, cleaning, and other family-related tasks. In developing
countries, these activities can expose women disproportionately to infectious
disease. Once infected, women often face further disparities in their
diagnosis and treatment options.
Infection
Control, Universal Rights
Inadequacies of infection control are exemplified by viral hemorrhagic
fever outbreaks. Ebola virus causes severe progressive weakness, often
with vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. Healthcare workers are charged
with managing these patients, which has led to high rates of nosocomial
transmission among staff. Because of the high number of female caregivers,
women are disproportionately affected when universal precautions are ignored.
The immediate instinct is to treat the patient before cleaning vomit or
other bodily fluids from the area. A more appropriate response of cleaning
and disinfecting, strictly controlling and disposing of sharps, and wearing
latex gloves is recommended. The goal should be always to protect staff
and caregivers first. Solutions include educating patients and healthcare
workers about their rights related to infection control.
Disparities
in Infectious Eye Diseases in Developing Countries
Globally, two blind women exist for every blind man. Age-adjusted odds
of blindness in women compared to men worldwide is 1.43. Trachoma is the
leading infectious cause of blindness. Chlamydia trachomatis is
spread by hand-eye contact, flies, and sharing of towels. Sex is linked
to higher exposure to C. trachomatis and progression to active
disease, trichiasis, corneal scarring, and blindness; sex also plays a
role during the development of conjunctival scarring. A sex-sensitive
approach is necessary for both primary prevention as well as use of eye
care services, including early recognition of the need for surgery. A
sex-sensitive approach would include interacting with women as primary
stakeholders in the process. Women's needs and opinions should be taken
into consideration when designing prevention programs, including determining
what barriers they may face in changing behaviors, if the program is to
be effective. A recommendation was made for primary prevention through
the SAFE model: surgery (to correct trichiasis), antimicrobial drugs (to
treat and decrease the community pool of C. trachomatis), face
washing (to interrupt transmission), and environmental improvements (to
interrupt transmission).
Women and
Water-related Diseases in Rural Egypt
Women play a major role in the collection, storage, use, and disposal
of water. Women's proper use of water is essential to the health of family
and community. Diseases associated with lack of safe water or sanitation
include diarrheal diseases, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. Schistosomiasis
has steadily decreased in Egypt due in part to the National Schistosomiasis
Control Program. This program focuses on free diagnosis and treatment,
snail control, health education, and linkage to water and sanitation improvement.
Experience gained from schistosomiasis prevention efforts may apply to
other water-related diseases. Behavior change is a complex process that
takes time and is difficult to measure precisely. Safe water sanitation,
maintenance, and use can help prevent disease transmission.
1The following comments were made in presentations
by the above authors at the International Conference on Women and Infectious
Disease.
Suggested citation
for this article:
Kimura GH, Mardel SN,
Coutright P, Watts S. Globalization, women, and infectious diseases. Emerg
Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2004 Nov [date cited]. Available
from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no11/04-0623_11.htm
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