From medical screening we can assess risk of illness in individuals, expands possibilities for medical interventions and pharmaceutical management in the cases of rare diseases. In my country, infectious diseases are the main cause of illness and deaths. However, as we know HIV weakens the immune system and allows opportunistic infections and genetically predisposed diseases to be unveiled, one example of this is Sarcoidosis, a granulomatous disease which runs in families. So, when someone is diagnosed his/her family is invited for screening test what is an advantage. One problem regarding this issue is the lack of confidentiality, many patients find difficult to tell their families how do they were diagnosed that disease. So, we need to take in account the effect of screening families in other to avoid discrimination
Two things spring to mind here:
First is the relevance of screening programmes to the country/culture in which it is taking place. Which country are you from Ema? It sounds as if infectious disease is the prime concern and the main focus in terms of thinking about risk and surveillance? How does this contrast with other countries/cultures?
Second is the impact of screening on families. You're talking specifically about infectious disease and concerns over stigma should positive results emerge. Might another dimension of this be screening for a disease where there is family history and implications for other family members?
Hi Sara, as you know HIV infected people are stigmatised my point is that how to invite families for screening oportunistic genetic disease?
