Lecture 1 Flashcards
Definition of Disease
Infection with subsequent symptoms
Definition of Asymptomatic Carrier
Reservoir of pathogenic organisms
What is the spectrum of infection
Sum of species that can be infected by a pathogenic organism.
How many species can serve as a host for a pathogen.
Infectious dose
minimal number of microorganisms required to cause an infection in a host
Puerperal sepsis definition
defined as an infection of the genital tract occuring at any time between rupture of membrane or labour or postpartum.
infection
colonization of a host by a pathogenic organism
pathogenic organisms
microorganism and small, biological active units that under certain conditions can infect a higher organism and cause disease
Pathogenicity
Ability of a whole species to cause an infection or disease
Opportunistic pathogen
Do not cause disease in normal habitat and a healthy person
Virulence
Degree of pathogenicity of members of a species; strain-specific trait; host-dependent
incidence of disease
Number of people developing a disease during a particular period of time
Prevalence of Disease
Number of people suffering from a disease during a given time period (no matter when they first developed symptoms)
Acute Disease
Rapid Development, usually short duration (eg. influenza)
Chronic Development
Slow development, may continue for a long time (eg. tuberculosis, leprosy, hepatitis B)
Latent disease
Causative agent remains inactive for sometime but may become active at any time and may cause symptoms (eg. shingles caused by varicella virus)
Local Infection
Small area in the body invaded by pathogens.(eg. pimples by Staphylococcus aureus)
Systemic Infection
Pathogens and their products spread throughout the body by blood or lymph (eg. measles)
Focal infection
pathogen from local infection enter blood or lymph and spread to the other confined body parts (eg. endocarditis by oral streptococci)
Bacteremia
Presence of pathogens in the blood