Ch. 12 Mechanisms of Infectious Disease Flashcards
Infection = a state of __ __ resulting from __ of __.
tissue destruction; invasion; microorganisms
Infections can be spread from person to person and those are called
communicable diseases
Non-communicable infections are called
- opportunistic infections
(when somebody is immunocompromised) - disorders like HIV or any type of treatment such as steroid therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy can lead to opportunistic infections
Epidemiology
the study of factors/events that influence the transmission of infectious diseases among humans or from nonhumans to humans
Sporadic
a random person here and there that comes down with that infection
Endemic
continuous transmission within a population; we’re in a specific geographic region ; relatively stable over time.
Epidemic
We’re looking at a much higher than normal transmission and spreading to new geographical areas; it’s abrupt, unexpected, incidence is going to rapidly increase over the endemic rates; we’ve seen this in the latest Ebola outbreak in Wester Africa
Pandemic
Spread beyond continental borders
ex: HIV/AIDS
Chain of Infection: what is the chain?
- infectious agent
- reservoirs
- portal of exit
- means of transmission
- portal of entry
- susceptible host
Chain of infection: infectious agent
What is this? and how can we break this chain?
Our bacteria, virus, etc.
We can break this chain by sterilization.
Chain of infection: Reservoirs
What is this? and how can we break this chain?
Reservoirs are what holds the infection and keeps it together so then it can be transmitted
Like mosquito breeding in water and passing on malaria
People and equipment can be reservoirs; can hold those microorganisms
we can break the chain by sanitizing our equipment and use antimicrobial drugs on ourselves to eliminate ourselves from becoming reservoirs
Chain of infection: Portal of Exit:
What is this? and how can we break this chain?
we need the microbe to leave the reservoir so they can pass it onto others:
- our skin
- any of our secretions
- us sneezing on somebody/any excretion that might come out
to break the chain, we cover our mouths when we cough; we get rid of tissue that we’ve used
Name the type of modes of transmission:
- Universal Precautions
- Contact Precautions
- Droplet Transmission
- Aerosol Transmission
- Vector Borne
Universal precautions
hand hygiene; not using equipment from one person to another
Contact precautions
gown + gloves
Droplet transmission
droplets typically only go a few feet (3-4 feet) and then will fall to the ground and won’t cause an issue
wear mask