Infectious Diseases Terminology Flashcards
Person or animal that harbors the infectious agent/disease and can transmit it to others but does not demonstrate the signs of the disease
Carrier
Exposure to a source of an infection; it implies possibility of infection
Contact
Capable of being transmitted from person to person by contact or proximity. Does not need or utilize a vector.
Contagious
An organims that harbos a parasitic, mutualisitic, or commensalism guest. THe host is the house and the parasite is the freeloader.
Host
An organism that lives on or in a host organims and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.
parasite
an infectious agent or organism that can produce disease
pathogen
Invasion of the body tissues of a host by an infectious agent, regardless if it causes disease or not.
Infection
A pathway into the host that gives an agent access to tissue that will allow it to multiply or act
Portal of entry
A population of organisms or the specific environment in which an infectious pathogen naturally lives and reproduces; usually a living horst or a certain species.
Reservoir
A pathogen that is transmissible from non human animals (typically vertebraes) to humans
Zoonosis
An increase, ofen sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population and area.
Epidemic
Carries the same definition of epidemic but is often for a more limited geographical areas
outbreak
the constant presence of an agent or health condition within a given geographic area or population
endemic
an epidemic occurring over a widespread area (multiple countries or continents) and usually affecting a substantial proportion of the population.
Pandemic
Any group of viruses that are transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods.
arbovirus
Resistance developed in response to an antigen (pathogen or vaccine) characterized by the presence of an antibody produced by the host.
Active Immunity
When a majority of a given group is resistant/immune to a pathogen. This confers protection to unvaccinated or susceptible individuals/group by reducing the likelihood of infection or spread.
herd immunity
Transfer of active humoral immunity of ready made antibodies produce by another host or synthesized. Passive immunization is used when there is a high risk of infection and inssuficient time for the body do develop its own immune repsonse. Short term.
Passive immunity
Describes an illness, impairment, degradation of health, chronic, or age related disease.
morbidity
time interval from a person being infected to the onset of sx of an infectious disease
incubation period
time interval from a person being infected to the time of infectiousness of an infectious disease
latency period
an infection that is nearly or completely asymptomatic.
subclinical infection
a combination of sx, characteristic of a disease, or health condition.
Syndrome
