Epidemiology Flashcards
Endemic disease
Disease that is always present at a low frequency in a population
Ex: Ebola is present in Africa all the time but in low quantities
Epidemic
Disease that has a high frequency over a short time
Ex: when everyone from a certain area of Africa contracts Ebola
Pandemic
An epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area
Ex: Ebola being spread to parts of the U.S.
What two measures are used to track the occurrence of diseases
Incidence and prevalence
Incidence
Number of new cases of a disease in a given area during a given period of time
Prevalence
Number of total cases of a disease in a given area during a given period of time
List examples of how technology has spread disease
- contracting Ebola on a jet
- spread of mad cow disease through modern farming practice
- hepatitis C spread through transfusions and blood banks
- influenza contracted from the poultry market in Asia
- E. coli 0157:H7 found in meat-processing plants
Transmission
movement of bacteria from a reservoir or a portal of exit to another host’s portal of entry
What are the 3 modes of transmission
Contact, vehicle, or vector
Epidemiology
The study of disease dynamics; It examines the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations
Which mode of transportation can be either direct, indirect or in droplets
Contact
Which mode of transportation involves air, water, and food
Vehicle
Which mode of transportation can be biological or mechanical
Vector
True or false
Most pathogens can survive for long outside their host
False
Most pathogens CANNOT survive for long outside their host
Reservoirs of infection
Sites where pathogens are maintained as a source of infection
