Chapter 11: Epidemiology And Public Health Flashcards
Differentiate among infectious, communicable, and contagious diseases
Infectious disease- a disease that is caused by a pathogen
Communicable disease- when infectious disease is transmissible from one human to another
Contagious disease- a communicable disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another
Define epidemiology
The study of factors that determine the frequency, distribution, and determinants of disease, and ways to prevent, control, or eradicate diseases in populations
Give examples of an infectious disease,a communicable disease, and a contagious disease
Influenza is a contagious disease because you can catch it from breathing in coughs or sneezes. Gonorreha is not a contagious disease.
Define zoonotic disease or zoonoses
Infectious disease that humans acquire from animal sources.
Differentiate between incidence of disease and the prevalence of a disease
Incidence of a disease is the number of new cases of that disease in a defined population during a specific time period.
The period prevalence of a disease is the number of cases of the disease existing in a given population during a specific time period.
The point prevalence of a disease is the number of cases of the disease existing in a given population at a particular moment in time.
Define sporadic disease.
A disease that occurred only occasionally within the population of a particular geographic area.
Define endemic disease.
Diseases that are always present within the population of a particular geographic area. Depends on environment, genetic susceptibility of the population, behavioral factors, number of people who are immune, virulence of pathogen, and reservoir.
Define epidemic disease.
A greater than usual number of cases of a disease in a particular region, usually occurring within a relatively short amount of time.
Define pandemic disease.
A disease that is occurring in epidemic proportions in many countries simultaneously- sometimes worldwide.
Name three diseases that are currently considered to be pandemics.
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria- collectively, these three cause more than 300 million illnesses and more than 5 million deaths per year.
List, in order, the six components of the chain of infection.
1) a pathogen
2) a reservoir of infection
3) a portal of exit
4) a mode of transmission
5) a portal of entry
6) a susceptible host
Identify 3 examples of living reservoirs and 3 examples of no living reservoirs.
Living: human carriers, animals (zoonotic diseases), and arthropods.
Nonliving: air, soil, dust, food, milk, water, and fomites.
Define a carrier and define the 4 different types of carriers.
A carrier is a person who is colonized by a particular pathogen, but the pathogen is not currently causing disease in that person.
Passive carriers carry the pathogen without ever having the disease.
Incubatory carriers are capable of transmitting the pathogen during the incubation period of a particular infectious disease.
Convalescent carriers harbor and can transmit a particular pathogen while recovering from an infectious disease.
Active carriers have completely recovered from the disease, but continue to harbor the pathogen indefinitely.
What is a fomite?
An inanimate object that is capable of transmitting pathogens.
List 5 modes of infectious disease transmission.
Contact (either direct or indirect contact), droplet, airborne, vehicular (contaminated inanimate objects), and vector transmission (various types of biting insects and arachnids).
