Epidemiology and Infections

Question 1

What is an acute disease?

Answer 1

Disease in which symptoms develop rapidly and that runs its course quickly

Question 2

What is a chronic disease?

Answer 2

Disease with usually mild symptoms that develop slowly and last a long time

Question 3

What is a subacute disease?

Answer 3

Disease with time course and symptoms between acute and chronic

Question 4

What is a asymptomatic disease?

Answer 4

disease without symptoms

Question 5

What is a latent disease?

Answer 5

Disease that appears a long time after infection

Question 6

What is a communicable disease?

Answer 6

Disease transmitted from one host to another

Question 7

What is a contagious disease?

Answer 7

Communicable disease that is easily spread

Question 8

What is a non-communicable disease?

Answer 8

Disease arising from outside of hosts or from opportunistic pathogen

Question 9

What is a local infection?

Answer 9

Infection confined to small region of the body

Question 10

What is a systemic infection?

Answer 10

Widespread infection in many systems of the body; often travels in the blood or lymph

Question 11

What is a focal infection?

Answer 11

Infection that serves as a source of pathogens for infections at other sites in the body

Question 12

What is a primary infection?

Answer 12

Initial infection within a given patient

Question 13

What is a secondary infection?

Answer 13

Infections that follow a primary infection; often by opportunistic pathogens

Question 14

What is epidemiology? How is it measured? What is the epidemiological triangle?

Answer 14

Epidemiology is the study of where and when diseases occur
And how they are transmitted within populations

Occurrence of disease measured by
-incidence and prevalence

epidemiological triangle
- host, environment and agent

Question 15

What do the following mean?
endemic
sporadic
epidemic
pandemic

Answer 15

endemic - disease outbreak is consistently present but limited to a particular region

sporadic - disease that occurs infrequently and irregularly

epidemic - unexpected increase in the number of disease cases in a specific geographical area

pandemic - a disease’s growth is exponential, spreads across multiple countries or continents, affecting large numbers of people

Occurrence of disease can be considered in terms of
Combination of frequency and geographic distribution

Question 16

What are nosocomial infections? What is the difference between endogenous and exogenous nosocomial infections?

Answer 16

nosocomial infections also referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAI), are infection(s) acquired during the process of receiving health care that was not present during the time of admission

endogenous nosocomial infection - self-infection with a patient’s own overgrowth of bacterial flora, typically as a result of the use of broad spectrum antimicrobials affecting an otherwise normal balance in the patient’s normal flora

exogenous nosocomial infection - results of a microorganism/pathogens from the hospital environment

Question 17

What is an iatrogenic infection? What is a superinfection?

Answer 17

iatrogenic infection - infection after medical or surgical management, whether or not the patient was hospitalised

superinfection - may result from use of antibiotics, i.e. allowing opportunistic pathogens to thrives

Question 18

What are the factors affecting nosocomial infections? How can nosocomial infections be controlled?

Answer 18

Factors
- exposure to numerous pathogens
- weakened immune system of host
- transmission of pathogens among patient and healthcare professionals

Control
- Aggressive control measures can reduce incidence
= disinfection, medical asepsis, surgical asepsis, isolation of contagious or susceptible patients, establishment of nosocomial infection control protocols