Lab 39 Epidemiology Flashcards
pathogen
disease producing microorganism
host
organism that harbors the pathogen
Communicable diseases
can be spread either directly or indirectly form one host to another
noncommunicable disease
they cannot be transmitted form one host to another
epidemiology
the science that deals with when and where diseases occur and how they are transmitted in the human population
endemic diseases
constantly present in the population
epidemic disease
when many people in a given area acquire the disease in a relatively short period of time
index case
first reported patient in a disease outbreak
case definition
one of the first steps in analyzing disease outbreak; should include the typical symptoms of patients included as cases in an outbreak investigation
What is one way a disease can be transmitted between hosts?
direct contact
droplet infection
occurs when microorganisms are carried on liquid drops from a cough or sneeze, is a method of direct contact
fomites
disease contaminated inanimate objects
vectors
insects and other arthropods that carry pathogens
mechanical transmission
insects carry a pathogen on their feet and may transfer the pathogen to a person’s food
biological transmission
transmission of a disease by an arthropod’s bite
reservoir
continual source of an infection
carriers
humans who harbor pathogens but who do not exhibit any sign of disease
epidemiologist
compiles data on the incidence of a disease and its method of transmission and tried to locate the source of infection to decrease the incidence
epidemic curve
gives a visual display of the outbreaks magnitude and time trend
secondary cases
when someone gets an infection from a food and then transmits the infection to family members who did not eat the food
do all people who contact an infected individual acquire the disease?
no because it depend son the immune system, level of infection and mainly on the type of disease. The person may already be sensitized to that disease
how can an epidemic stop without medical intervention (e.g. quarantine, chemotherapy, vaccines)?
individual dies or overcomes infection and therefor is no longer a source of further infection. epidemic stops when people susceptible to it are too few and too scattered in population to keep cycle going.
what was the method of transmission of the “disease” in this lab 39?
direct contact of the skin
could you be the infected individual and not have growth on your plate?
yes you could have the disease on your palm and not on your fingers
