Health
Disease caused by microorganisms (pathogens) that can be transmitted from one person, animal, or object to another
Infectious disease
Spread are by direct physical contact with an infected person or animal, such as through touch, sexual intercourse, fecal/oral transmission, or droplets or by indirect means, as by a vector.
Communicable diseases
Free of all organisms, including spores and viruses
Sterile
Equipment and methods that prevent the transmission of microorganisms from one person to another.
Standard precautions
A dead or nontoxic part of a pathogen that is injected into a person to train his or her immune system to eliminate the live pathogen
Vaccine
Protective barriers such as a mask, gown, gloves, and protective eyewear that help protect a person from contact with infectious material.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Factors that lead to the transmission or spread of disease.
Chain of infection
A substance that targets and kills pathogenic bacteria
Antibiotic
A pathogen's ability to fight back against an antibiotic; develops over time and as a result of contact with certain antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance
Cause disease or infection
Pathogen
A place where the pathogen can live
Reservoir
A way for the pathogen to escape the reservoir in which it has been growing
Portal of exit
Absence pathogens
Asepsis
Small living organism, grow best in what conditions warm, moist, and dark
Microorganisms
Microbes that are beneficial when present
Normal flora
Do not require oxygen to live
Anaerobic
Used for patients known (or suspected) to be infected with pathogens transmitted by small particles of evaporated droplets that contain microorganisms.
Airborne Precautions
The manner in which the pathogen enters a new reservoir or host
Portal of entry
Must be followed for patients known or suspected to be infected with microorganisms that can be transmitted by either direct or indirect contact.
Contact Precautions
Must be followed for a patient known (or suspected) to be infected with pathogens transmitted by large particle droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing, talking, or laughing.
Droplet Precautions
An outbreak of a disease that occurs in unexpectedly large numbers over a geographic area
Epidemic
A widespread epidemic that affects an enormous number of people and spreads between countries and across the world
Pandemic
A bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Specific types of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria that are resistant to vancomycin, the drug often used to treat infections caused by enterococci.
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE)
Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic medicine vancomycin. The infection can spread easily from person to person.
Vancomycin resistant staphylococcus aureus (VRSA).