Objectives 3-7

Question 1

what is incidence?

Answer 1

the number of new cases of a disease in a specific period of time

Question 2

importance of incidence?

Answer 2

provides a good measure of the progress of disease outbreaks

Question 3

What is prevalence?

Answer 3

the number of people infected by the disease at any one time

Question 4

What is the importance of prevalence?

Answer 4

provides a good measure of how seriously the disease is affecting the population

Question 5

what is the morbidity?

Answer 5

the number of cases of a disease in relation to the total population size

Question 6

what is the mortality?

Answer 6

the number of deaths caused by a particular disease

Question 7

Define sporadic disease

Answer 7

occurs only occasionally within a population

Question 8

what are examples of sporadic diseases?

Answer 8

• tetanus
• botulism
• ebola

Question 9

define endemic disease

Answer 9

constantly present within a population, the number of cases fluctuates but never reaches zero

Question 10

what are 3 examples of endemic diseases

Answer 10

• gonorrhoea
• chicken pox
• common cold

Question 11

define an epidemic

Answer 11

a short term increase in the occurance of disease in a particular population

Question 12

examples of epidemics

Answer 12

• whooping cough
• influenza
• ebola

Question 13

define a pandemic

Answer 13

epidemic of global proportions

Question 14

examples of pandemics

Answer 14

• Spanish flu
• HIV
• Covid 19

Question 15

what is the role of WHO?

Answer 15

World Health Organization

• develops, co-ordinates and implements programmes to improve health

Question 16

what is the role of the CDC?

Answer 16

Centre for disease control

• monitoring, control and prevention of infectious disease

Question 17

what is the role of the communicable disease center?

Answer 17

• linked to MOH

- gathers data, monitors trends, provides warning and produces publications

Question 18

the Health Act 1956, requires clinicians to report what to the MOH?

Answer 18

Notifiable diseases

Question 19

what is a communicable disease?

Answer 19

any disease that spreads directly from one person to another, either directly or indirectly

Question 20

what is a non-communicable disease

Answer 20

a disease caused by the normal flora or by organisms that reside outside the body (e.g tetanus)

Question 21

what is a contagious disease?

Answer 21

disease easily spread from one host to another (e.g. chicken pox)

Question 22

what is an acute disease

Answer 22

develops rapidly but generally lasts only a short time (e.g. influenza)

Question 23

what is a chronic disease?

Answer 23

develops more slowly and is likely to be continuous or recurrent for long periods (e.g. tuberculosis)

Question 24

what is a latent disease?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

define a local infection

Answer 25

invading micro-organisms are limited to a relatively small area of the body

e.g. conjunctivitis, boils

Question 26

define a systemic infection

Answer 26

when micro-organisms are distributed throughout the body by the blood or lymphatic system

Question 27

what is bacteraemia

Answer 27

presence of bacteria in the blood

Question 28

what is septicaemia

Answer 28

bacteria multiplying in the blood

Question 29

define a primary infection

Answer 29

the infection that causes the initial illness

Question 30

define a secondary infection

Answer 30

infection caused by opportunist after the primary infection has weakened the body defenses

Question 31

what are examples of secondary infections

Answer 31

• streptococcal bronchopneumonia following whooping cough
• measles
• influenza

Question 32

what is a subclinical infection

Answer 32

an infection that does not cause any noticeable illness

e.g. hep B

Question 33

what is a reservoir of infection?

Answer 33

• 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

Question 34

what are the two main categories of reservoirs of infection

Answer 34

1. Living: human, insect and animal

2. non-living: soil, air, food, water