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THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES: A REVIEW OF RESEARCH AND COVERAGE OF GLOBAL INFECTIONS
D.V. Babenkova, Postgraduate Student
S.E. Prokopenko, Postgraduate Student
Ju.G. Pritulina, Doctor of Sciences in Medicine
A.V. Medvedeva, Associate Professor
Voronezh N.N. Burdenko State Medical University
(Russia, Voronezh)
DOI: 10.24411/2500-1000-2020-10804
Abstract. The paper concerns the importance of obtaining professional English for the practice of a doctor, especially an infectious disease specialist. The language barrier is an obstacle that must be overcome through working English. Knowing professional medical English allows presenting the results of scientific research to the international medical community in the form of an article or report. The aim of our study was to prove that English is the leading language in the field of infectious diseases and the current coverage of COVID 19. In the course of the study, we analyzed the quantity of publications in English on several infectious diseases that are a global problem around the world. For the search, we used an international database PubMed with open access. In the course of our work, we have confirmed that the vast majority of medical articles on infectious diseases that are important for the whole world, such as malaria, typhoid fever and the new covid-19 coronavirus infection, are published in English. In this way, we have confirmed the role of English as the international language of science.
Keywords: medical English, medicine, language barrier, infectiologist, infectious diseases.
According to a legend, initially all people spoke the one language. They built a huge city called Babylon, and decided to raise the tower to heaven, believing that in this way will become gods. The construction of the tower was interrupted by God, who made people speak different languages, and they could no longer understand each other and could not continue the construction of the city and the tower and resettled throughout the earth. This instructive story about the dangers of pride in ancient times explained why there are so many languages in the world.
The total number of languages and dialects in the world is approaching seven thousand. This diversity makes a challenge - a language barrier - that prevents people to understand each other, to collaborating and share information. This divided people, hindered the development of mankind, contributed to discord and conflict, prevented to unite to solve common problems throughout history. No wonder our ancestors thought it was a curse.
There are about 7.5 billion people in the world. 4.1 billion of them speak one of the 23
most widely spoken languages in the world. Chinese is the most widely spoken native language with 1.2 billion native speakers. However, English is the most widely spoken language in the world with one and a half billion people who have learned it - 1.8 billion people speak it in total. Behind the two leaders are Hindi, Spanish, French, German and Arabic. Russian is in eighth place.
Travel and migration are extremely common nowadays. People want to see the world and have this opportunity. Unfortunately, sometimes they take uninvited passengers with them. Bacteria and viruses don't know any borders, nationalities, or political views. For them, the middle ages are still going on, but now it is possible to spread from continent to continent with the help of aircraft.
Therefore, for doctors, especially for infectiologists, the language barrier is an obstacle that must be overcome, and English can be the key to overcoming this obstacle. Doctors should be ready to help people from other countries, and often English helps to overcome the language barrier. The doctor will be
unable to collect anamnesis or find out the patient's complaints without a common language. Without this, the correct diagnosis will not be made. Without a correct diagnosis, the treatment will be wrong and the patient may die. The purpose of our article is to prove that English is the leading language in the field of infectious diseases and the current coverage of COVID 19.
Materials. In the course of our work, we analyzed articles about common infectious diseases published in an international database PubMed over the past 5 years. PubMed documents medical and biological articles from specialized literature, as well as provides links to full-text articles. PubMed includes data from the following fields: medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, General health, psychology, biology, genetics, biochemistry, Cytology, biotechnology, Biomed-icine, and so on. About 3,800 biomedical publications have been documented. Every year, the PubMed database increases by 500,000 documents. We have calculated the number of articles in different languages to identify the most common language in which medical research results are published.
Results and Disccussion. There are many reasons for people working in the medical field to study English. Most modern scientific literature is published in English. Moreover, a medical professional can publish an article in English, thereby presenting the results of their research to the international medical community. Moreover, knowledge of English gives the opportunity to train in English-speaking countries and international communication. The study of languages contributes to the development of memory, which is also necessary in the study of medical disciplines. But infectious diseases specialists often encounter foreigners who come to Russia bringing infectious diseases with them. For timely diagnosis of the beginning of treatment, it is necessary to collect anamnesis in a timely and complete. Often the English language becomes an invaluable tool for this.
At the first, we tell about malaria. Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomit-
ing, and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death.
It is caused by single-celled microorganisms of the Plasmodium group. The disease is most commonly spread by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's blood. The parasites travel to the liver where they mature and reproduce. Five species of Plasmodium can infect and be spread by humans: P. vivax, P. ovale, P. Malariae, and most deaths are caused by P. falciparum. The species P. knowlesi rarely causes disease in humans.
The World Health Organization (WHO) [1] estimates that in 2018 there were 228 million new cases of malaria resulting in 405,000 deaths. Malaria is presently endemic in a broad band around the equator, in areas of the Americas, many parts of Asia, and much of Africa; in Sub-Saharan Africa, 85-90% of malaria fatalities occur. These countries are popular places for tourism. According to The Rospotrebnadzor in the Russian Federation, in 2018, there was an increase in the incidence of malaria by 66.7% compared to the previous year. A total of 148 cases of all types of malaria (tropical, three-day, four-day, and ovale) were reported [2]. If we detect malaria immediately, we can successfully cure a person. But without treatment, a person can die or become a source of infection. Every year, many foreign citizens with malaria come to hospitals, and we need an effective means to overcome the language barrier.
In the course of our research, we found that the number of articles about malaria in English over the past 5 years was about 20,027. The number of articles in Chinese was 238, in Hindi - 0, in Arabic-0, in Spanish - 73, in German - 32, in French - 177, in Russian - 32.
Typhoid feveris a bacterial infection due to a specific type of Salmonella that causes symptoms, which may vary from mild to severe, and usually begin 6 to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several days. This is commonly accompanied by weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, and mild vomiting. Some people develop a skin rash with rose-coloured spots.
Typhoid is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Risk factors include poor sanitation and poor hygiene. Those who travel in the developing world are also at risk. Without treated promptly, typhoid fever can lead to death from intestinal bleeding, shock, or peritonitis. In addition, sick people can infect others. This disease is common in India, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries [3]. People from these countries often come to Russia for work or study.
In 2015, 12.5 million new cases worldwide were reported. The disease is most common in India. Children are most commonly affected. Rates of disease decreased in the developed world in the 1940s as a result of improved sanitation and use of antibiotics to treat the disease. Each year in the United States, about 400 cases are reported and the disease occurs in an estimated 6,000 people. In 2015, it resulted in about 149,000 deaths worldwide - down from 181,000 in 1990 (about 0.3% of the global total). [1]
In the course of our research, we found that the number of articles about typhoid feveris in English over the past 5 years was about 1686. The number of articles in Chinese was 18, in Hindi - 0, in Arabic-0, in Spanish - 14, in German-5, in French-16, in Russian-5.
Another disease that has already spread to countries on all continents is coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic is anongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. As of 11April, more than 1773358 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than 190 countries and territories, resulting in more than 108 701 deaths and more than 402 270 recoveries. The number of cases is growing every day. In Russia, 13584 cases of Covid-19 coronavirus infection were recorded in 82 regions of the country. The total number of deaths from coronavirus at the moment in our country is
106 people. There are 1045 confirmed cases of complete recovery from coronavirus in Russia.
Symptoms of COVID-19 are non-specific and those infected may either be asymptomatic or develop flu-like symptoms such as fever, dry cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, or muscle pain. Further development of the disease can lead to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock and death. Some of those infected may be asymptomatic. This infection is especially dangerous for the elderly. A cure and vaccine for the new virus is still being developed. The new coronavirusis a challenge that people from all countries should join forces to overcome. English is becoming an important medium for this.
In the course of our research, we found that the number of articles about COVID-19 in English was about 18280 since the outbreak of the diseases. The number of articles in Chinese was 430, in Spanish - 262, in German - 154, in French - 201, in Russian -5.
From the presented figures it becomes clear that the English language has dominated other languages in the writing medical articles. The presented figures for the number of articles don't indicate that only English-speaking scientists publish their articles. Its say that scientists from China, Germany, India, Russia and other countries publish their materials mainly in English, because this allows other scientists from all over the world to get acquainted with their research.
Conclusion. Our findings have shown that English is the international language of science. It is in this language that most scientists from all over the world prefer to publish their articles so that their colleagues from different countries can get acquainted with the results of research. The common language of science will allow us to overcome any difficulties together. In addition, it helps doctors to help people from other countries, as well as reading international scientific articles, to keep up with the latest achievements of science and medicine.
References
1. Website of the World Health Organization. - URL: www.who.int.
2. Official website of Rospotrebnadzor. - URL: www.rospotrebnadzor.ru.
3. www.who.int/immunization/diseases/typhoid
4. Markova S.V.The struggle of the Voronezh front's sanitary services against the threat of epidemics in July 1942 - March 1943 // Russian historical and archival journal «VESTNIK ARHIVISTA».
ВАЖНОСТЬ АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА В БОРЬБЕ С ИНФЕКЦИОННЫМИ ЗАБОЛЕВАНИЯМИ: ОБЗОР ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ И ОХВАТ ГЛОБАЛЬНЫХ ИНФЕКЦИЙ
Д.В. Бабенкова, аспирант С.Е. Прокопенко, аспирант Ю.Г. Притулина, д-р мед. наук А.В. Медведева, доцент
Воронежский государственный медицинский университет им. Н.Н. Бурденко (Россия, г. Воронеж)
Аннотация. В статье рассматривается важность изучения профессионального английского языка для практики врача, особенно специалиста по лечению инфекционных заболеваний. Языковой барьер - это препятствие, которое необходимо преодолеть с помощью английского языка. Знание профессионального медицинского английского языка позволяет представить результаты научных исследований международному медицинскому сообществу в виде статьи или доклада. Целью нашего исследования было доказательство, что английский язык является ведущим языком в области инфекционных заболеваний и текущего охвата COVID-19. В ходе исследования мы проанализировали количество публикаций на английском языке по нескольким инфекционным заболеваниям, являющимся глобальной проблемой всего мира. Для поиска мы использовали международную. базу данных с открытым доступом PubMed. В ходе работы мы подтвердили, что преобладающее большинство медицинских статей по таким важным для всего мира инфекционным заболеваниям, как малярия, брюшной тиф и новая коронавирусная инфекция COVID-19, публикуются именно на английском языке. Тем самым мы подтвердили роль английского языка как международного языка науки.
Ключевые слова: медицинский английский, медицина, языковой барьер, инфекционист, инфекционные заболевания.
