infectious disease terminology Flashcards
normal flora
following terms.
Normal flora: Bacteria (etc.) that normally inhabit body. They are usually acquired shortly after birth and considered nonpathogenic except in the case of immunocompromised hosts. Some serve an important function such as production of vitamin K by the enterobacteriaceae in the gastrointestinal tract
resident flora
bacteria present majority of time may change with different stages of life
infection
presence of microorganism in or on the body may or may not result in clinical symptoms
infectivity
how frequently an agent is transmitted to a susceptible person
disease
a change in health due to the infection, clinical manifestations
endemic disease
present in low but constnat level in an area
epidemic
more cases than predicted within a certain community
pandemic
epidemic that spreads throughout the world
pathogenesis
capacity of a microorganims to cause infection
virulence
degree of pathogenecitiy, number of severe or fatal cases/total number of cases
nonsocomial infection
hospital acquired
community acquired
outside of the hospital
communicable
spread from person to person
zoonotic
associated with or carried by animals
opporutnisitc infection
an infection caused by a microorganism that does not usually cause disease in a health individual, the patient is immunosuppressed or immunocompromised
