Epidemiology Concepts
What is a case?
A person who has been diagnosed with a health-related state or event.
What is a carrier?
A carrier contains, spreads, or harbors an infectious organism.
When does airborne transmission occur?
Occurs when droplets or dust particles carry the pathogen to the host and cause infection (e.g., respiratory viruses, pertussis, pneumococcal pneumonia, diphtheria, rubella)
What is primary prevention?
Primary prevention is the effort to prevent a disease or disorder before it happens.
What is epidemiology?
A field of science that studies health problems within populations.
What is a pathogen?
An organism or substance that is capable of producing a disease (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, mold and or parasites).
What is a fomite?
An inanimate (nonliving) 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 vector-borne transmission?
It's a transfer of a disease to a human from a vector.
What is active primary prevention?
Active primary prevention requires the individual's behavior to change.
What is an pandemic?
An epidemic affecting or attacking the population of an extensive region, country, or continent.
What is a primary case?
The first disease case in the population.
What is a vector?
An invertebrate animal (e.g., tick, mite, mosquito, bloodsucking fly) that is capable of transmitting an infectious agent to humans.
What is vehicle-borne transmission?
The disease is transferred via a particular vehicle (such as cholera or shigellosis.
What is passive primary prevention?
The individuals behavior is not required to change from preventing the disease of disorder to occur.
What is a common source?
An epidemic that arises from a specific source.
What is an index case?
What is a reservoir?
The habitat (living or nonliving) in or on which an infectious agent lives, grows, and multiplies and on which it depends for its survival in nature.
What is mechanical transmission?
It's a vector-borne disease transmission processes that occur when the pathogen, so as to spread, uses a host (e.g., a fly, flea, louse, rat) as a mechanism for a ride, for nourishment, or as part of a physical transfer process.
What is secondary prevention?
Is the health screening and detection activities used to identify disease.
What is an endemic?
The ongoing, usual, or constant presence of a disease in a community or among a group of people; a disease is said to be endemic when it continually prevails in a region
What is a suspect case?
An individual who is displaying all the signs and symptoms of the disease but has not been diagnosed with having the disease.
What is a zoonosis?
An infectious organism in vertebrate animals (e.g., rabies, anthrax) that can be transmitted to humans through direct contact, a fomite, or a vector.
What is a biological transmission?
It's a transfer of a pathogen to a susceptible host by a vector, with the pathogen undergoing reproduction, developmental changes, or both while in the vector.
What is tertiary prevention?
Is limiting any disability by providing rehabilitation when the disease, injury or disorder has already caused harm.
What is an mixed epidemic?
When victims of a common-source epidemic have person-to-person contact with others and spread the disease, further propagating the health problem.