Cellular Basis For The Spread Of Infectious Diseases Flashcards
What are the five stages of infectious disease
Incubation period (no signs or symptoms)
Prodromal period (vague general symptoms)
Illness (most severe signs and symptoms)
Decline (declining signs and symptoms)
Convalescence (no signs or symptoms)
Outline the rhinovirus
Bare cap side, raw protein with single stranded RNA
Can stay on surfaces for long period of time
Most frequent cause of common cold
Prefers to grow at 32 degrees C
Outline the chain of infection
Causative agent
Reservoir
Means of exit
Mode of transmission
Portal of entry
Person at risk
Outline the causative agent
The microorganism which has the ability to cause disease
Outline the reservoir
Where infection / microorganism can life and thrive. May be person, an animal, any object in general environment, food, water
Outline the means of exit
Describes the way the microorganism leaves the reservoir/body
Outline the mode of transmission
Describes how the microorganisms are transmitted from one person or place to another. This could be via someone’s hands, on an object, through the air or bodily fluid contact
Outline the portal of entry
How the infection enters the individual e.g. breathing in or via wound
Outline the person at risk
Describes the person who is vulnerable to infection, usually young old and immunocomprimised
Define mortality
The incidence of death in a population
Define morbidity
Refers to the incidence of disease, including fatal and non fatal cases
Outline endemic
The amount of a particular disease that is usually present in a community is referred to as the baseline or endemic level of the disease
Define sporadic
A disease that occurs infrequently and irregularly
Define epidemic
An increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population
Define pandemic
An epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people
