An emergency is characterized as a dangerous situation prevailing in a certain territory. The cause of its occurrence can be man-made disasters, destructive natural phenomena or other factors that threaten people with big troubles. Recently, the problem of the occurrence of biological emergencies of a worldwide nature has become especially urgent.
Definition
When an emergency of this type occurs in a separate territory, human life, the existence of domestic animals and agricultural plants are seriously endangered, and habitual living and working conditions are violated.
The sources of emergencies of a biological nature are usually various infectious diseases. With insufficient control over the spread of the virus or slowness in taking measures to eliminate the infection zone will expand steadily, which means that more and more living organisms will become infected.
History
During the existence of mankind, there were many examples of the destructive effects of pathogenic bacteria: in the Middle Ages, the plague destroyed almost two-thirds of Europeans, and in the beginning of the twentieth century, smallpox claimed more lives than two world wars. Every year, new types of infectious diseases dangerous to humans appear, and some of them scientists could not cope with: HIV, Lyme disease, etc.
In Russia, the Ministry of Sanitary Control, medical facilities and the Ministry of Emergency Situations deal with the problems of identifying, preventing and eliminating biological emergencies of a biological type.
Types of emergency situations. Man-made emergency
Emergencies are classified according to the source of origin. Today it is customary to distinguish the following types:
- Technogenic.
- Ecological.
- Natural.
Emergencies of a technogenic nature, that is, that occurred at industrial, energy and other facilities. Its main feature is chance.
Most often, a catastrophe is caused by a human factor or improper operation of production equipment:
- car accidents, the crash of aircraft, trains, water transport;
- fires in residential buildings and industrial facilities;
- accidents with the threat of the release of chemical and radioactive substances;
- collapse of buildings;
- breaks, breakdowns in energy systems;
- accidents at communal facilities responsible for human life support (breakthrough of sewage, water supply, heat cut-off, interruptions in gas supply);
- dam breaks.
All technological disasters occur due to lack of control or careless attitude to work or safety requirements of an industrial facility or system.
Ecological emergency
For thousands of years, mankind has been trying to tame the whole world around it, to put nature in the service of its needs, which often has a detrimental effect on everything living on the planet. Ecological emergencies are associated with serious and often irreversible changes in the environment:
- drainage of territories, exceeding pollution standards;
- changes in the composition of the air: previously unusual weather changes, excessive content of impurities in the atmosphere, urban smog, excess of noise standards, “ozone holes”;
- problems associated with the pollution of the hydrosphere, that is, the water composition of the earth: the unsuitability of drinking sources, drainage, the spread of the desert, the discharge of waste into the sea.
A few decades ago, they practically did not deal with these problems, but now, after the Chernobyl disaster, the shallowing of the Sea of Azov and noticeable changes in seasonal temperatures, states around the world are interested in preventing and preventing emergencies. In Russia, large funds are allocated annually for these purposes.
Natural emergencies
Natural emergencies are caused not so much by the consequences of human activity as by natural phenomena. Although in some cases, humanity is indirectly involved in the occurrence of certain disasters.
The classification of natural emergencies provides for the following categories:
- Earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
- The phenomena caused by geological processes: landslides, mudflows, dust storms, erosion, landslides, etc.
- The classification of natural emergencies also includes meteorological problems: hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, heavy rain, frost, ice, snowfall, blizzard, extreme heat, drought.
- Hazardous marine phenomena: floods, tsunamis, typhoons, pressure or separation of ice, etc.
- Hydrological phenomena: rising water levels, congestion.
- Natural fires.
Biological emergencies are also natural in nature, as they are caused by infectious diseases that spread to people, animals and agricultural plants. For this category, the following definitions apply: source of occurrence, zone of infection, live pathogens, epidemic, epizootic and epiphytotic process.
Causes
Each emergency has its own sources of the problem. So, for emergencies of a biological nature, these are infectious diseases. They are caused by the penetration of alien microorganisms into the body, which are commonly called pathogens.
- For people, animals and plants, viral infections are the most fatal. In recent decades, influenza in various manifestations has become widespread, with each year the viruses mutate and adapt to any drugs. In addition, hepatitis, chickenpox, and among animal ailments include foot and mouth disease and glanders.
- The next reason for biological emergencies is bacterial infections (meningococcal, intestinal, dysentery). The development of medicine in recent decades has led to a decrease in the level of infection with pathogens of this type. Due to the creation of antibiotics, the promotion of preventive measures and hygiene, bacterial infections are no longer so terrible to humanity.
The elimination of the consequences of an emergency largely depends on identifying the cause of the outbreak. Infectious infection is a process that occurs in a separate organism; epidemic - when an infection passes from one organism to another.
Degree of distribution
Depending on the extent of destruction and the number of casualties, emergency situations can be classified as follows:
- An emergency of local significance when disasters or diseases do not spread outside a small territory, the number of victims is not more than ten people, and the material damage does not exceed one hundred thousand rubles.
- Municipal - the emergency is located in the zone of a separate federal district or city, affected by less than fifty people, and the damage is within five million rubles.
- Intermunicipal, when the affected area already covers two neighboring objects, be it villages or city districts.
- Emergency takes on regional significance when the problem does not go beyond the boundaries of this area.
- Interregional.
- Federal, when the number of victims is more than five hundred people, and the distribution zone covers more than two regions.
The consequences of emergency biological effects are usually eliminated by each region individually. In rare cases when infectious diseases cover a large number of people, a national emergency can be declared.
Distribution methods
- Intestinal infections. May occur when consuming contaminated food and water, using the same dishes.
- Respiratory tract infections. The cause of infection is direct communication with a sick person.
- Infection through the external skin. It occurs due to bites of insects, animals, rodents, ticks, when wounded by fragments containing the causative agents of the virus.
Fatal infections spread during the war pose a separate problem. Despite the prohibitions on the use of such weapons of mass destruction, emergencies of a biological nature periodically occur in some hot spots in the world.
Developmental stages
Ecological, natural, and man-made emergencies almost always follow one scheme, which includes the following phases:
- The stage of nucleation, the accumulation of deviations from the norm of a particular process, the emergence of conditions and prerequisites for the emergence of emergencies. Depending on the type of origin, this phase can last minutes, hours, years and centuries. Examples: fire hazard situation in the forest, weakened immunity, insufficient control of the epidemiological situation in the region, etc.
- The beginning of an emergency. The stage at which the process is initiated. In technological disasters, this is most often the human factor, in biological - infection of the body.
- The climax, the process of an emergency event itself. There is a maximum adverse effect on the population (for example, the spread of the influenza virus).
- The fourth stage, the period of attenuation, when the consequences of emergencies are eliminated by special services, or they themselves pass for objective reasons.
Elimination begins in the third stage and, depending on the category of emergencies, can take months, years, or even decades. The situation is particularly difficult with biological emergencies. In some cases, it takes years to develop, test and introduce the necessary medicines.
Liquidation procedure
Biological emergencies are dangerous in that infectious diseases spread very quickly and if timely measures are not taken, they can cause great damage to human health, even death. Therefore, a special program of action was developed to eliminate one of the three links in the process of the spread of diseases:
- Impact on the source of infection, its disinfection.
- Finding and breaking the transmission of the disease.
- Development of methods to increase the immunity of organisms to infectious diseases.
When carried out correctly, these measures contribute to the localization of the source of infection, and then the consequences of emergencies are already being liquidated.
Possible results
Viruses and bacteria enter the human body and immediately begin to multiply actively, causing significant damage to health. Every year, thousands of people die in the world from complications caused by the influenza virus, or from the destructive effects of hepatitis and other bacteriological diseases on internal organs.
The cause of the emergency can be any. Pets and agricultural plants are also susceptible to various infections and, in turn, can also be a source of infection. Information about swine or bird flu often appears in the media, as a result of which a huge number of animals died or were forcibly killed, and industry suffered significant damage.
Disaster Prevention
Emergency prevention has its own specifics, much depends on the development of medical services in the country, the availability of state programs. In Russia, because of the harsh climate, the problem of the spread of the influenza virus arises annually, especially among children.
The best way to prevent an epidemic or to make the disease do minimal damage is to actively prevent it. If the measures taken do not help, you should follow the rules of conduct in case of emergency.
Depending on the nature of the implementation of measures to combat infection, as well as the degree of spread of pathology, the following ways to prevent epidemics and pandemics are distinguished:
- Preventative measures. They are undertaken continuously, even in the absence of diseases. Recently, vaccinations against influenza have been carried out in Russia, widespread work with the population is being carried out, doctors urge patients to refrain from attending events with a large number of people and observe personal hygiene rules.
- Anti-epidemiological actions carried out during a massive infection in an emergency in a particular region.
State measures are mandatory for all organizations and structures, while each person bears responsibility for their own health.
