Infectious Disease Flashcards
Define carrier.
(1) Person or animal that harbors the infectious agent/disease and can transmit it to others but does not demonstrate signs of the disease.
(a) [COVID-19 living dormant in your body]
Define contact.
(1) Exposure to a source of an infection; a person who has been exposed. Contact does not imply infection; it implies possibility of infection.
(a) [Sexual contact]
Define contagious.
(1) Capable of being transmitted from person to person by contact or proximity. Does not need or utilize a vector.
(a) [Tuberculosis]
Define host.
(1) An organism that harbors a parasitic, mutualistic, or commensalism guest. The host is the house & the parasite is the freeloader.
(a) [Human]
Define parasite.
(1) An organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. Three main classes of human parasites are protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites.
(a) [Malaria is a protozoa parasite]
Define pathogen.
(1) An infectious agent or organism that can produce disease.
Define infection.
(1) Invasion of the body tissues of a host by an infectious agent, regardless if it causes disease or not.
(a) [Ebola or Influenza]
Define portal of entry.
(1) A pathway into the host that gives an agent access to tissue that will allow it to multiply or act.
(a) [Respiratory tract, open wound, etc.]
Define reservoir.
(1) A population of organisms or the specific environment in which an infectious pathogen naturally lives and reproduces; usually a living host of a certain species.
(2) [Reservoir is a living creature – ex: Anthrax reservoir are herbivores]
Define zoonosis.
(1) A pathogen that is transmissible from non-human animals (typically vertebrates) to humans.
(a) [Swine Flu, bird flu, turtle flu]
Define epidemic.
(1) An increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population and area.
(a) [Opioid Epidemic in the U.S.]
Define outbreak.
(1) Carries the same definition of epidemic but is often used for a more limited geographic area.
(a) [Mississippi]
Define endemic.
(1) The constant presence of an agent or health condition within a given geographic area or population.
(a) [Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa]
Define pandemic.
(1) An epidemic occurring over a widespread area (multiple countries or continents) and usually affecting a substantial proportion of the population.
What is Arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus)?
(1) Any of a group of viruses that are transmitted between hosts by
mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods.
(a) [Malaria, Dengue WNV, Lyme, RMSF]
What is active immunity?
(1) Resistance developed in response to an antigen (pathogen or vaccine) characterized by the presence of antibody produced by the host.
(a) [JEV]
What is herd immunity?
(1) When a majority of a given group is resistant/immune to a pathogen, they achieve “herd immunity”. This confers protection to unvaccinated or susceptible individuals/group by reducing the likelihood of infection or spread.
(a) [Measles]
What is passive immunity?
(1) Transfer of active humoral immunity of ready-made antibodies produced by another host or synthesized. Passive immunization is used when there is a high risk of infection & insufficient time for the body
to develop its own immune response. Short Term!
(a) [Rabies IG, Tetanus IG, Crofab (Rattlesnake antivenin)]
What is morbidity?
(1) Describes any illness, impairment, degradation of health, chronic, or age-related disease.
(2) High Morbidity = Lower lifespan & high mortality when infected with any pathogen.
What is incubation period?
(1) Time interval from a person being infected to the onset of symptoms of an infectious disease.
(2) [Influenza = 1- 4 days]
What is latency period?
(1) Time interval from a person being infected to the time of
infectiousness of an infectious disease.
(2) [TB is where latency period is important]
What is latency period?
(1) Time interval from a person being infected to the time of
infectiousness of an infectious disease.
(2) [TB is where latency period is important]
What is subclinical infection?
(1) An infection that is nearly or completely asymptomatic. A
subclinically infected person is an asymptomatic carrier of the
infection.
(a) [HIV/AIDS]
What is syndrome?
(1) A combination of symptoms, characteristic of a disease, or health condition; sometimes refers to a health condition without a clear cause. Greek for “concurrence.”
(a) [Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome]
