community test 3 Flashcards
are biological in nature and are capable of producing an infection or infectious disease and include bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, fungi, protozoa, and helminths.
Infectious agents
A person or animal that harbors an infectious organism and transmits the organism to others, although having no symptoms of the disease.
carrier
The presence and multiplication of infectious organisms without invading or causing damage to tissue.
colonization
An outbreak characterized by exposure to a common, harmful substance.
common source outbreak
The constant or usual prevalence of a specific disease or infectious agent within a population or geographic area.
endemic
communicable by direct or indirect contact
contagious
Significant increase in the number of new cases of a disease than past experience would have predicted for that place, time, or population; an increase in incidence beyond that which is expected.
epidemic
Originating in a healthcare facility; formerly called nosocomial infection.
healthcare associated infection
Time period between initial contact with the infectious agent and the appearance of the first signs or symptoms of the disease.
incubation period
Presence and replication of an infectious agent in the tissues of a host, with manifestation of signs and symptoms. An infectious disease need not be contagious or communicable.
infectious disease
Ability of the agent to produce an infectious disease in a susceptible host.
pathogenicity
Outbreak resulting from direct or indirect transmission of an infectious agent from an infected person to a susceptible host; secondary infections can occur.
propagated outbreak
Location where an infectious agent is normally found, where it lives and reproduces under normal circumstances.
reservoir
Infections that occur within the accepted incubation period following exposure to a primary case.
secondary infection
A continual dynamic method for gathering data about the health of the general public for the purpose of primary prevention of illness.
surveillance
The transfer of an infectious agent from one person or place to another.
transmission
Slow and progressive genetic changes that take place in DNA and RNA as organisms replicate in multiple hosts.
antigenic drift
Sudden change in the molecular structure of DNA and RNA in microorganisms, resulting in a new strain of the microorganism.
antigenic shift
Refers to a set of coordinated strategies to improve the use of antimicrobial medications with the goal of enhancing patient health outcomes, reducing resistance to antibiotics, and decreasing unnecessary costs.
antibiotic stewardship
Model illustrating the interaction of 13 factors that contribute to the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases.
convergence model
Observation of clients to ensure that they ingest each dose of anti-TB medication to maximize the likelihood of completion of therapy.
Directly observed therapy (DOT)
Natural unit consisting of all living things (plants, animals, bacteria, viruses) interacting with, and dependent on, one another for survival within their nonliving environment.
ecosystem
Newly identified, clinically distinct (novel) infectious disease.
Emerging infectious disease
Type of immunity in which a large proportion of people in a population are not susceptible to a communicable disease and the few people who are susceptible will not likely be exposed and contract the illness.
herd immunity
