Dealing With Infectious Diseases In the Light of Islam

1. Dealing With Infectious Diseases In the Light of Islam الدكتور سعيد أحمد 28082014

2. Dealing With Infectious Diseases In the Light of Islam الدكتور سعيد أحمد 28082014

3. Synopsis • Introductions and Definitions • Concepts of Health and diseases • Health and Diseases in Islam • Handling of Diseases: Islamic perspective • Prevention of Diseases • Conclusions

4. Introductions • (قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلاَّ مَا كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلاَنَا وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (النور :51) • وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

5. Introductions • ‘‘There are two blessings which many of the people lose out on: good health and free time.” - Al-Bukhariy, from ibn Abbas (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/196) • “Health is one of the most precious favours Allah has bestowed upon His servants, the most generous of gifts, and the most plentiful of His bounties. Rather, even more, [good] health is the most precious of favours without exception, so it is fitting that whoever is granted a portion of this fortune that he cherishes it, preserves it and guards it against harm.”- Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (died 752 AH)

6. Concepts of Health and diseases • Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. – WHO • A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury

7. Concepts of Health and diseases in Islam • “Indeed Allah, the most High, did not create a disease except that He created for it a cure. So upon you is the cow’s milk, for indeed it feeds from every herbage.” (Saheeh al-jaami’ of Al-albaaniy, no. 1808) • A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury

8. Islam on Contagious Diseases • “Run away from the leper same as you would from a lion.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5707) and Sahîh Muslim (2220)]. • “The person who has a contagious disease should not approach a healthy person.” [Sahîh Muslim (2221)]

9. Prevention of(infectious) Diseases • {وَلاَ تُلْقُواْ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ} {سورة البقرة 159} • Narrated from Usama bin Zaid (R.A) that the Prophet (saw) said, “When you hear that there is plague in a land, do not enter that land. And if the plague befalls a land and you are in it, and then do not leave it”. (Sahih Al-Bukhariy, no. 5728).

10. Prevention; Definition and Concept • Actions aimed at eradicating, eliminating or minimizing the impact of disease and disability, or if none of these are feasible, retarding the progress of the disease and disability. • The concept of prevention is best defined in the context of levels, traditionally called primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. A fourth level, called primordial prevention, was later added.

11. Prevention of(infectious) Diseases • {وَلاَ تُلْقُواْ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ} {سورة البقرة 159} • Prophet (saw) also said, “run from the leper (someone who has leprosy) as you will run from a lion.” (Sahih al-Bukhariy, no. 5707 • “When you talk to a man infected with leprosy, let a distance of one or two spears between you and him.” • )

12. Determinants of Prevention • Successful prevention depends upon: • a knowledge of causation, • dynamics of transmission, • identification of risk factors and risk groups, • availability of prophylactic or early detection and treatment measures, • an organization for applying these measures to appropriate persons or groups, and • continuous evaluation of and development of procedures applied

13. Preventable Causes of Disease BEINGS • Biological factors and Behavioral Factors • Environmental factors • Immunologic factors • Nutritional factors • Genetic factors • Services, Social factors, and Spiritual factors [JF Jekel, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine, 1996]

14. Islam on Contagious Diseases • : “There is no contagious disease, no intestinal serpent, and no omens in worms.”  • To this, a desert dweller said: “O Messenger of Allah! What about the camels that can be in the desert as healthy as gazelles. Then a camel afflicted with a skin disease joins them and the whole lot falls ill?”  • The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: “Who made it so that the first camel got infected?” [Sahîh Muslim (2220)] 

15. Levels of prevention Primordial prevention Primary prevention Secondary prevention Tertiary prevention

16. Primary prevention • Primary prevention can be defined as the action taken prior to the onset of disease, which removes the possibility that the disease will ever occur. • It signifies intervention in the pre-pathogenesis phase of a disease or health problem. • Primary prevention may be accomplished by measures of “Health promotion” and “specific protection”

17. Secondary prevention • It is defined as “ action which halts the progress of a disease at its incipient stage and prevents complications.” • Secondary prevention attempts to arrest the disease process, restore health by seeking out unrecognized disease and treating it before irreversible pathological changes take place, and reverse communicability of infectious diseases. • It thus protects others from in the community from acquiring the infection and thus provide at once secondary prevention for the infected ones and primary prevention for their potential contacts.

18. Tertiary prevention • It is used when the disease process has advanced beyond its early stages. • It is defined as “all the measures available to reduce or limit impairments and disabilities, and to promote the patients’ adjustment to irremediable conditions.” • Intervention that should be accomplished in the stage of tertiary prevention are disability limitation, and rehabilitation.

19. Strategy for Prevention Identify A Populations s s at High Modify Existing e Disease Risk s s Intervention (based on demography / family history, host factors..) m Programs e n n o t i t n Assess e Evaluate v Exposure r Intervention e t Programs n I Conduct Research on Mechanisms Apply (including the study of genetic susceptibility) Population-Based Intervention Programs Epidemiology Division

20. Control • Concept of control: The term disease control describes ongoing operations aimed at reducing: • The incidence of disease • The duration of disease and consequently the risk of transmission • The effects of infection, including both the physical and psychosocial complications • The financial burden to the community.

21. Surveillance • surveillance means to watch over with great attention, authority and often with suspicion • According to another, surveillance is defined as "the continuous scrutiny (inspection) of the factors that determine the occurrence and distribution of disease and other conditions of ill-health"

22. Control Cases Contacts Carriers Community Diagnosis notification Epidemiological Investigation & containment isolation observation detection disinfection treatment follow up release Control of infectious diseases (the 4 “C”s standard strict protective

23. THE EBOLA SAGA

24. To summarize • The goals of medicine are to promote health, to preserve health, to restore health when it is impaired, and to minimize suffering and distress. • These goals are embodied in the word "prevention" • Successful prevention depends upon a knowledge of causation, dynamics of transmission, identification of risk factors and risk groups, availability of prophylactic or early detection and treatment measures, • The objective of preventive medicine is to intercept or oppose the "cause" and thereby the disease process.

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