Class 4- Landscape Epidemiology

Question 1

What causes infectious disease

Answer 1

Microorganisms (pathogen or agent)

Question 2

Human Immune System

Answer 2

• Protects from infection/disease
• Vaccinations strengthen children’s immune system

Question 3

Types of infectious disease agents

Answer 3

• Prion
• Virus
• Rickettsia
• Bacteria
• Protozoa
• Helminth

Question 4

Contagious/Transmission

Answer 4

How easily is the disease spread?

Question 5

Virulence

Answer 5

• The ability of an agent of infection to produce disease
• The virulence of a microorganism is a measure of the severity of the disease it causes.

Question 6

Types of chains of transmission

Answer 6

• Direct transmission (person to person)
• Fecal-oral route
• Vectored

Question 7

Breaking the chain of disease transmission

Answer 7

• Vaccinate to reduce the number of susceptible people and create herd immunity for those that cannot be vaccinated
  
  • Herd immunity means the disease cannot spread because there are not enough susceptible people

Question 8

Basic Reproduction Number R0

Answer 8

• The number of secondary infections produced by a typical case of an infection in a population that is totally susceptible
• Used to measure the transmission potential of a disease.

Question 9

What is Landscape Epidemiology

Answer 9

• Biotic regionalization of vectored disease
• Landscape is an expression of physical, biotic, and cultural processes
• Landscape epidemiology is a natural fit for Geography/GIS
  
  • Humans/environment interactions, leverage multiple sources (layers) of information, ability to overlay and locate

Question 10

Human Landscape Alteration

Answer 10

• Occurs on multiple scales
  
  • Climate change
  • Urban Sprawl
  • Deforestation

Question 11

Biotic Realm (biomes)

Answer 11

• Climate, altitude, latitude
• Plants and animals
  
  • Includes microbes and arthropods

Question 12

Realms of Evolution

Answer 12

• Barriers to the exchange of genetic information
  
  • e.g. oceans, mountains, deserts
• Distinct plants and animals to a region
• How has migration and human movement affected realms of evolution?
  
  • Invasive species

Question 13

Culture Realm

Answer 13

• Extent of region that is defined by particular practices and beliefs
  
  • ex. US and China
    
    • Occupy similar biotic realms (climate and latitude)
      
      • Huge cultural differences with respect to the landscape form
        
        • Settlement patterns, housing types, land use

Question 14

Natural Nidus

Answer 14

• Smaller scale region
• Living community of agent and host required to keep a disease circulating
  
  • Intersection of “realms”to create a cyclical habitat

Question 15

Silent Zone

Answer 15

• Landscape contains the elements such that agent, vector, and reservoir coincide but does not have humans