EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DISEASE TRANSMISSION PART 2

Question 1

transfer of an infectious agent from a reservoir to a host by suspended air particles, inanimate objects (vehicles), or
animate intermediaries (vectors)

Answer 1

indirect Transmission

Question 2

a host depends on genetic or constitutional
factors, specific immunity, and nonspecific factors that affect an individual’s ability to resist infection or to limit pathogenicity

Answer 2

Susceptibility

Question 3

The final link in the chain of infection

Answer 3

host

Question 4

occurs when infectious agents are
carried by dust or droplet nuclei suspended in air

Answer 4

Airborne transmission

Question 5

dried residue of less than 5 microns in
size, it may remain suspended in the air for long periods of time and may be blown over great distances

Answer 5

Droplet Nuclei

Question 6

material that has settled on surfaces and
become resuspended by air currents as well as infectious particles blown from the soil by the wind

Answer 6

Airborne Dust

Question 7

such as mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks may carry an infectious agent through purely mechanical means or may support growth or changes in the agent

Answer 7

Vector

Question 8

the causative agent of malaria or
guinea worm disease undergoes maturation in an intermediate host before it can be transmitted to humans

Answer 8

Biologic transmission

Question 9

are flies carrying Shigella on
their appendages and fleas carrying Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, in their gut.

Answer 9

Mechanical transmission

Question 10

transmission in food, water, biologic products (blood), and fomites (inanimate objects such as handkerchiefs, bedding, or surgical scalpels)

Answer 10

Vehicle transmission

Question 11

the manner in which a pathogen enters a susceptible host

Answer 11

Portal of Entry

Question 12

what causes many pathogens follow a so called “fecal- oral” route because they exit the source host in feces, are carried on inadequately washed hands to a vehicle such as food, water, or utensil, and enter a new host through the mouth

Answer 12

gastroenteritis

Question 13

Other portals of entry include the skin

Answer 13

hookworm, syphilis, hepatitis B human
immunodeficiency virus

Question 14

protective antibodies that are directed
against a specific agent

Answer 14

Specific immunity

Question 15

Nonspecific factors that defend against infection includes:

Answer 15

skin, mucous membranes, gastric acidity, cilia in the respiratory tract, the cough reflex, and nonspecific immune response

Question 16

Factors that may increase susceptibility to infection by disrupting host defenses includes:

Answer 16

malnutrition, alcoholism, and disease or therapy that impairs the nonspecific immune response

Question 17

level of disease that amount of a particular disease that is usually present in a community

Answer 17

baseline or endemic level of the disease

Question 18

level of disease may continue to occur at this level indefinitely

Answer 18

observed level

Question 19

disease that occurs infrequently and irregularly

Answer 19

Sporadic

Question 20

persistent, high levels of disease
occurrence

Answer 20

Hyperendemic

Question 21

constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area

Answer 21

Endemic

Question 22

carries the same definition of epidemic, but is often used for a more limited geographic area

Answer 22

outbreak

Question 23

an aggregation of cases grouped in place and time that are suspected to be greater than the number expected, even though the expected number may not be known

Answer 23

Cluster

Question 24

an epidemic that has spread over several
countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people

Answer 24

pandemic