Epidemiology and Public Health Vocabulary

Flashcards on Epidemiology and Public Health

Epidemiology

Study of the factors that determine the frequency, distribution and determinants of diseases in human population

Pathology

Study of the structural and functional manifestations of diseases, including its diagnosis in individuals

Communicable disease

Infectious disease that is transmissible from one person to another

Contagious disease

A communicable disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another

ID50

Infective dose that it takes to infect 50% of the population

LD50

Lethal dose that results in the death of 50% of the population

Zoonotic diseases

Infectious diseases that humans acquire from animal sources

Incidence

Represents the number of new cases of a disease within a specific population over a given time period

Morbidity rate

Refers to the rate of disease or illness within a population. It quantifies how many people have a specific disease or are experiencing symptoms of it at a given time or within a specific period.

Period Prevalence

Number of cases/population/specific time period

Mortality Rate

Also known as the death rate (Ratio of the no. people who died of a particular disease during a specified time period per a specified population (100,000)

Sporadic Diseases

Disease that occurs rarely and without regularity within the population of a given area

Endemic Disease

Diseases that are always present within the population; may fluctuate overtime

Epidemic

Also known as outbreak, is defined as the greater than usual number of cases of a disease in a particular region; occurring within a relatively short period of time

Pandemic

Disease that occurs in epidemic proportions in MANY COUNTRIES simultaneously

Reservoir

Any site where the pathogen can multiply or simply survive, until it is transferred to host.

Human Carrier

Colonized with a particular pathogen, but is not causing disease in that person

Incubatory Carrier

Person who is capable of transmitting the disease during the incubatory period

Active Carrier

Have completely recovered from the disease, but continue to harbor the pathogen indefinitely

Passive Carrier

Carry the pathogen without having the disease; asymptomatic

Convalescent Carrier

Can transmit a particular disease while recovering from an infectious disease

Zoonotic Diseases (Zoonoses)

Infectious diseases that humans acquire from animals

Arthropods

Group of animals that commonly associated with human infections; they serve as reservoir for infections

Vectors

Involved in transmission of diseases

Fomites

Inanimate objects capable of transmitting pathogens