| Things to think about From
1986 through 1998, the active TB
case rate among the minority population
was much greater than that for the white population.
The most effective
and inexpensive way to fight sexually transmitted diseases such
as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV is not through treatment after
exposure, but rather through education and prevention.
Chlamydia cases
have been rising dramatically in New Jersey: from 1,716 cases in 1991 to 11,683 in
1998.
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Importance
Tuberculosis
(TB) remains a significant public health problem in New Jersey.
At the same time, many of the infectious diseases that we face
in New Jersey are preventable. Prompt identification, effective
treatment, and reducing the risk of transmission are the keys
to controlling infectious diseases and the hallmarks of an effective
health care system. In general, we can reduce the rates of sexually
transmitted disease and most other infectious diseases through
better education about sex and better access to basic health
care.
Economic
These
illnesses are expensive in every way. They cost our health care
budgets directly. They also lead to lost earnings and lowered
productivity. They burden our social and familial relationships
that are the building blocks of our economy.
Environmental
Environmental
and health indicators often move in tandem. Healthy people create
successful societies that continually improve social, environmental,
and economic indicators. In other places, though, high rates
of disease and other problems build vicious cycles that worsen
a range of indicators, from environment to health.
Social
The
illness rates as shown by this indicator are also indicative
of a number of other diseases and health-related issues. The
likelihood of getting any one of these illnesses is related
to education and socioeconomic status.
Knowledge
Gaps
We
need data for other infectious diseases as well. It would also
be useful to have measures that illuminate the differences in
harm caused by various diseases, so as to distinguish, for example,
between deadly diseases such as HIV and less deadly ones such
as chlamydia. It is also necessary to have consistently collected
data on the underlying social, economic, and environmental conditions
that promote the spread of all infectious disease.
Data
Source: NJ Department of Health & Senior Services
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