Chapter 4 Flashcards
nosocomial infections
infections acquired in a hospital or other medical facility, acquired during medical treatment, also acquired by staff members, increases patients chances of death
Exogenous
caused by organisms that enter the patient from the environment (staff comes into patient room and passes cold to patient)
endogenous
caused by opportunists among the patient’s own normal microflora (like when treatment causes another infection)
Reservoirs
can be human, animal, or non living. Humans can have active infection that they can spread, or they can be carriers and spread . soil and water can also be reservoirs, contaminated by feces.
Carrier
harbor infectious agent without having any observable clinical signs or symptoms
Isolation
quarantine
Direct contact
contact way of transmission, direct physical contact with touching (sexual infections, animal bites)
Indirect contact
contact way of transmission, infection by contaminated surface (or fomite, an object/surface likely to carry infection - clothes and utensils) tetanus, ringworm, common cold
Droplets
contact way of transmission, droplets from the reservoir that are often spread from coughing and sneezing. Transmit by entering another person by way of mouth or nose. Droplets can also land on surfaces, and if someone touches that surface and then their face they will get infected. Pneumonia, whooping cough, common cold, influenza.
Vehicle
non-living carrier, waterborne, airborne, food borne
Waterborne
poor water sanitization can lead to spread of disease like cholera and shigellosis
Airborne
spread through air, chickenpox, tuberculosis, flu
Portal of entry
Skin
- Sweat glands, mammary glands, through hair follicles, worms can bore through skin
Mucous membranes
- ex: Droplet with pathogen lands in mouth
Parenteral sites (injured tissue)
- ex: Droplet with pathogen lands in an open cut
Portal of exit
Waste products
- Vomit, diarrhea, feces
Secretions
- Saliva (animal saliva too)
– Mono can be spread by kissing someone with mono
Blood and pus
- HIV can be spread when a needle touches the blood of someone with the disease
- Milk (breast milk)
Herd immunity
getting vaccinated so that those who cannot receive the vaccination are safe
Epidemiology
study of factors and mechanisms involving frequency and spread of diseases and other health-related problems within populations of humans, other animals, or plants
Etiology
study of the cause of disease
Incidence
number of new cases contracted within a set population during a specific period of time
Prevalence
total number of people infected within the population at any time, includes both old and newly diagnosed cases (help us know how many supplies and hospital beds are available)
Morbidity
the number of people who have had or have the disease (everyone who got better, everyone who still has it) in relation to total number of population
Mortality
number of death to a disease in a population during a specific period in relation to the total population (if 20 people out of 100 die with a disease the mortality is 20%)
Endemic
it is continually present in the population of a particular geographic area. Low number in cases, so it does not constitute a public health problem (flu, lice, seen all the time, can predict when they’re coming)
Epidemic
when a disease suddenly has a higher-than normal incidence in a population. The morbidity and/or mortality rate increase, sometimes due to reluctance to immunize children. EX: tuberculosis in the United states, usually a problem stemming from immunization.
Pandemic
when an epidemic spreads worldwide. In 1918 and 2009 the swine flu reached pandemic proportions. Covid. Worldwide can also entail just a few countries
