Objectives 3-7 Flashcards
what is incidence?
the number of new cases of a disease in a specific period of time
importance of incidence?
provides a good measure of the progress of disease outbreaks
What is prevalence?
the number of people infected by the disease at any one time
What is the importance of prevalence?
provides a good measure of how seriously the disease is affecting the population
what is the morbidity?
the number of cases of a disease in relation to the total population size
what is the mortality?
the number of deaths caused by a particular disease
Define sporadic disease
occurs only occasionally within a population
what are examples of sporadic diseases?
- tetanus
- botulism
- ebola
define endemic disease
constantly present within a population, the number of cases fluctuates but never reaches zero
what are 3 examples of endemic diseases
- gonorrhoea
- chicken pox
- common cold
define an epidemic
a short term increase in the occurance of disease in a particular population
examples of epidemics
- whooping cough
- influenza
- ebola
define a pandemic
epidemic of global proportions
examples of pandemics
- Spanish flu
- HIV
- Covid 19
what is the role of WHO?
World Health Organization
- develops, co-ordinates and implements programmes to improve health
what is the role of the CDC?
Centre for disease control
- monitoring, control and prevention of infectious disease
what is the role of the communicable disease center?
- linked to MOH
- gathers data, monitors trends, provides warning and produces publications
the Health Act 1956, requires clinicians to report what to the MOH?
Notifiable diseases
what is a communicable disease?
any disease that spreads directly from one person to another, either directly or indirectly
what is a non-communicable disease
a disease caused by the normal flora or by organisms that reside outside the body (e.g tetanus)
what is a contagious disease?
disease easily spread from one host to another (e.g. chicken pox)
what is an acute disease
develops rapidly but generally lasts only a short time (e.g. influenza)
what is a chronic disease?
develops more slowly and is likely to be continuous or recurrent for long periods (e.g. tuberculosis)
what is a latent disease?
where the causative agent remians inactive for a long period of time but then becomes active to cause disease
e.g. cold sores from herpes simplex, shingles
define a local infection
invading micro-organisms are limited to a relatively small area of the body
e.g. conjunctivitis, boils
define a systemic infection
when micro-organisms are distributed throughout the body by the blood or lymphatic system
what is bacteraemia
presence of bacteria in the blood
what is septicaemia
bacteria multiplying in the blood
define a primary infection
the infection that causes the initial illness
define a secondary infection
infection caused by opportunist after the primary infection has weakened the body defenses
what are examples of secondary infections
- streptococcal bronchopneumonia following whooping cough
- measles
- influenza
what is a subclinical infection
an infection that does not cause any noticeable illness
e.g. hep B
what is a reservoir of infection?
- the various sources of microbiological infection
- i.e. the sites in which viable infectious agents remain alive and from which new infections of individuals may occur
what are the two main categories of reservoirs of infection
- Living: human, insect and animal
2. non-living: soil, air, food, water
