Lecture 9: Communicable Diseases

Question 1

what are infectious diseases?

Answer 1

• important causes of mortality and morbidity, especially in low and middle income countries

Question 2

what are the threats of infectious diseases?

Answer 2

• antibiotic resistance
• climate change
• globalisation
• new and emerging infectious diseases

Question 3

how are infectious disease spread?

Answer 3

spread through a population determined by a mixture of biological and social factors:
1. infectivity
2. pattern of mixing between infected and susceptible
3. duration of infectiousness

data on these together can be used the estimate the R number (reproduction number)
the higher the reproduction number, the more rapidly the infection will spread through a population?

Question 4

what does it mean if R=1 ?

Answer 4

the incidence will be relatively stable (more than 1 means more people will be infected)

Question 5

what does it mean if R is less than 1?

Answer 5

incidence of infectious disease will drop! yay

Question 6

what is the role of R numbers?

Answer 6

it is useful for understanding and monitoring infectious disease which can be really useful for public health, policy, strategy, prevention, management etc etc

Question 7

what SDGs are relevant to infectious diseases?

Answer 7

3 good health and wellbeing, 6 clean water and sanitation, 1 poverty (etc)

Question 8

what are common infectious diseases?

Answer 8

HIV, hepatitis, malaria, tuberculosis
- often determined by sanitation, poverty, access to health care, behaviour, culture, environment etctetctec

Question 9

what is the IHR?

Answer 9

International Health Regulations (2005)
- agreement including member states to work together for global health security

Question 10

what should be considered for communicable disease control?

Answer 10

• prevalence drives incidence (r number)
• strongly affected by a wide range of environmental, social and economic factors
• often distributed inequitably along with deprivation, but not always
• politics are a strong driver

Question 11

what are complex systems?

Answer 11

• have interacting components
• whole is more than the sum of the parts
  e.g:
• climate
• organisms
• the human brain
• cities
• ecosystems
• social systems

all these link to communicable disease :D