The Foundations
The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in human populations and the application of this study to the prevention and control of health problems.
What is epidemiology?
The occurrence of cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior, or other health-related events clearly in excess of normal expectancy in a community or region.
What is an epidemic?
An infected person or animal that contains, spreads, or harbors an infectious organism.
What is a carrier?
The direct and immediate transfer of an agent from a host/reservoir to a susceptible host.
What is a direct transmission?
Preventing a disease or disorder before it happens.
What is primary prevention?
Involves characterization of the distribution of health-related states or events.
What is descriptive epidemiology?
An epidemic affecting or attacking the population of an extensive region, country, or continent.
What is a pandemic?
An object such as a piece of clothing, a door handle, or a utensil that can harbor an infectious agent and is capable of being a means of transmission.
What is a fomite?
Disease that results when an agent is transferred or carried by some intermediate item, organism, means, or process to a susceptible host.
What is an indirect transmission?
Activities aimed at health screening and early detection in order to improve the likelihood of cure and reduce the chance of disability or death.
What is secondary prevention?
Involves finding and quantifying associations, testing hypotheses, and identifying causes of health-related states or events.
What is analytic epidemiology?
The ongoing, usual, or constant presence of a disease in a community or among a group of people.
What is an endemic?
The habitat in or on which an infectious agent lives, grows, multiplies, and on which it depends for its survival in nature.
What is a reservoir?
The transfer of bacteria or viruses on dust particles or on small respiratory droplets that may become aerosolized when individuals sneeze, cough, laugh, or exhale.
What is airborne transmission?
Efforts to limit disability by providing rehabilitation where disease, injury, or a disorder has already occurred and caused damage.
What is tertiary prevention?
The ability of a program to produce a desired effect among those who participate in the program compared to those who do not.
What is efficacy?
Arise from infections transmitted from one infected person to another.
What are propagated epidemics?
An invertebrate animal that transmit infection by conveying the infectious agent from one host to another.
What is a vector?
When an anthropod conveys the infection agent.
What is vector-borne transmission?
Any attempt to restore an afflicted person to a useful, productive, and satisfying lifestyle and to provide the highest quality of life possible, given the extent of the disease and disability.
What is rehabilitation?
The ability of a program to produce benefits among those who are offered the program.
What is effectiveness?
When victims of a common-source epidemic have person-to-person contact with others and spread the disease, resulting in a propagated outbreak.
What is a mixed epidemic?
An infectious organism in vertebrate animals that can be transmitted to humans through direct contact, a fomite, or a vector.
What is zoonosis?
Transfer of a pathogen to a susceptible host by a vector, with the pathogen undergoing reproduction, develop mental changes, or both while in the vector.
What is biological transmission?
Does not require behavior change on the part of the individual in order to prevent a disease or disorder from occurring.
What is passive primary prevention?