Infection Prevention and Control Flashcards
Who is John Snow
Discovered the broad Street pump during the cholera outbreak
Who is Semmelweis
The father of epidemiology, introduced anti-septives and reduced maternal mortality rates
What are the variety of clinical manifestations in infectious diseases
symptomatic vs asymptomatic and cancer-related
What are the variety of time courses of infectious diseases
acute, subacute, chronic
What are the components of the epidemiological Triad of disease
host, agent, and environment
What are the components of the chain of infection transmission
agent
reservoir
portal of exit
mode of transmission
portal of entry
susceptible host
Who is the agent
the pathogen
What are important characteristics of the agent
ability to multiply
ability to withstand environmental stress (ex. temperature, humidity, pH)
+/- nonhuman host reservoirs (ex. water or ticks)
What is epidemiologically important in agents
mode of transmission (direct/indirect)
Causes of infection
Produces clinical diseases
What is infectivity
infected/#exposed
ability to enter, survive, and multiply within the host
What is pathogenicity
with clinical disease/#infected persons
extent to which overt disease is produced in an infected population
What is virulence
serious cases/#with clinical disease
serious disease-producing potential
What is reservoir
place where agent lives +/- replicates
ex. animal, environment/water, food
What is required to be a reservoir
must be able to exit reservoir and enter susceptible host via portal of entry
ex. mosquito transmitting malaria
contaminated ICU sink (pseudomonas)
what are the 5 modes of transmission
- Contact (direct or indirect)
- Droplet
- Common vehicle
- Airborne
- Vector-borne
What are the characteristics of contact transmission
can be either direct or indirect
Most healthcare associated transmission
Ex. MRSA, C. difficile
What are characteristics of droplet transmission
large respiratory droplets propelled over a short distance (< 2 m)
Ex. Influence and Covid-19
What are characteristics of common vehicle transmission
from contaminated instrument/products (needle reused on someone)
Ex. HIV/HCV contaminated blood products
What are characteristics of airborne transmission
small droplets (<50 um) propelled long distances
Ex. TB, measles, chicken pox (VZV)
What are characteristics of vector-borne transmission
happens in tropical climates
Transmitted by insects
Ex. malaria
What is a susceptible host, and the two types
person or living animal that afford lodging to an infectious to an infectious agent
Definitive (primary): a parasite reaches maturity (passes its sexual stage)
Intermediate (secondary): a parasite is in its larval (asexual) state
What are the two risks of susceptible hosts
exposure risks: enviroments
Infectious risks: getting sick
What is the basic reproduction number
R = cqd
c= contact rate
q= probability of transmission
d= duration of infectivity
What are characteristics of the basic reproduction number
incorporates social and biological determinant of transmission
Varies with different microorganisms, different environments, and over time
R <1 will generally not propagate (ex. SARS) usually just close contact in healthcare not really in community