Communicable Disease, Prevention and Immunity - Intro to Health Flashcards
what is health
a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
what is a communicable disease
a disease which can be spread between organisms, usually within a species , but some can cross the species barrier. Vectors, which carry pathogens, are also involved in the spread of some diseases
what is a pathogen
a microorganism that causes disease
they live on/in a host
they take nutrition from their host, which can cause damage
describe the patterns of disease in developing countries
- mainly communicable diseases
- other causes of death include deficiency diseases, accidents
- more deaths at birth/early years
give reasons for the patterns of disease in developing countries
- poverty
- poor sanitation
- lack of medical facilities
- limited health education
- climate
describe the patterns of disease in developed countries
- mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancer, road accidents
- since people live longer, more degenerative diseases seen
- the incidence of communicable diseases is low
give reasons for the patterns of disease in developed countries
- improved hygiene, sanitation, nutrition
- vaccination programmes
- antibiotics readily available
define epidemiology
the study of the spread of disease and the factors affecting it
define a pandemic
a worldwide epidemic
define mortality
the number of people who die each year from a disease
define prevalence
the number of people with a disease at a given time
define endemic
a disease that is always present in the population
define epidemic
a disease that spreads rapidly to a lot of people over a wide area
define morbidity
departure from health
