Prevention and Control of Diseases and Illnesses 3617

Major Public Health Problems

Communicable Disease

Chronic illness

Substance abuse

Acute Injuries (firearms, suicide, DO)

Chain of Infection

• Model used to identify and prevent communicable disease
• Involves agent, transmission, and host

Agent (Cause) Communicability

Ability to spread from one individual to another

Agent Pathogenicity

Ability to cause disease

Agent Virulence

Ability to cause severe disease
• Properties like antibiotic resistance and toxins increase ______?

Host

Living organism infected with pathogen

Defense mechanisms
• Skin as a barrier
• Acquired immunity
• Herd immunity
Defense mechanisms

Risk Factors for Host Susceptibility

• Impaired immune system
• Age extremes (Neonates/Elderly)
• Malnutrition
• Genetics
• Environmental factors

Direct transmission

• Agent transferred directly from reservoir to a host
• Examples: Common cold, tetanus, HIV

Indirect transmission

• Agent uses an intermediary (vector or fomite)
• Examples: tuberculosis, Lyme disease

Communicable vs. Infectious Diseases

• Infectious
—caused by pathogen
• Communicable
—Disease spread human to human
• CDC has reporting system for both

Waterborne Illness

• Majority of water in U.S. is safe to drink
—Broken pipes or other issues can make it unsafe
Examples
• Otitis externa (“swimmer’s ear”)
• Legionnaire’s disease
• Norovirus
• Giardiasis

Foodborne Illness

• “Food poisoning”
• More than 250 foodborne illnesses identified
Examples
• Norovirus
• Salmonella
• Campylobacter
• Prevent with proper cooking and cleaning techniques

Zoonotic Illness

• Spread between people and animals
Examples
• Zoonotic influenzas
• Salmonellosis
• West Nile virus
• Plague

Vector Illness

– living organism that can spread agents
Examples
-Ticks
-Mosquitoes
-Fleas

Chronic Illness

• Leading cause of death and disability in U.S.
Prevention
• Smoking cessation
• Healthy diet
• Exercise
• Limiting alcohol
• Regular screenings
• Adequate sleep

Drug Overdose

Risks:

-Hx of abuse

-Mental illness

-Chronic pain

-Negative life events

Prevention

—Naloxone

—Education

Suicide

-10th leading cause of death in U.S.

-2nd in Young people

Prevention

• Strengthen economic supports
• Create protective environments
• Promote connectedness
• Expand access to mental health care