Disease Detectives Scioly

Active Immunity

resistance developed in response to an antigen (i.e., an infecting agent or vaccine), usually characterized by the presence of antibody produced by the host.

Agent

A factor (microorganism, chemical substance, radiation, etc.) whose presence, excessive presence, or relative absence is essential for the occurrence of a disease

Airborne Transmission

transfer of an agent suspended in the air, considered a type of indirect transmission.

Analytic Study

a study, usually observational, in which groups are compared to identify and quantify associations, test hypotheses, and identify causes. Two common types are cohort studies and case-control studies.

Antigen

Any substance (ex. a toxin or the surface of a microorganism or transplanted organ) recognized as foreign by the human body and stimulates the production of antibodies

Arbovirus

any of a group of viruses that are transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods.

Association

When one characteristic is related to another and they change predictably together

Attack Rate

The rate that a group experienced an outcome or illness over a short period of time (ex. Outbreak)

Attribute

a risk factor that is an intrinsic characteristic of the individual person, animal, plant, or other type of organism under study (e.g., genetic susceptibility, age, sex, breed, weight).

Bias

Ant systemic tendency in the collection, analysis, interpretation, publication, or review of data that can lead to conclusion that are systemically different from the truth. In epidemiology, does not imply intentional deviation

Biologic Transmission

Indirect transmission by vector in which the infectious agent undergoes biologic changes inside the vector as part of its life cycle before it is transmitted to the host

Classical Epidemiology

The study of the distributions and determinants of health conditions or events among populations and the application of the study to control health problems

Clinical Epidemiology

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Cluster

An aggregation of cases of a disease or other health-related conditions over a particular period closely grouped in time and space

Confounding Variable

The distortion of the between an exposure and a health outcome by a third variable that is related to both

Epidemiological Triad

The traditional model of infectious disease caustion having 3 components: an external agent, a susceptible host, and an environment that brings the host and agent together so that disease occurs.

Experimental Study

a study in which the investigator specifies the type of exposure for each person (clinical trial) or community (community trial) then follows the persons' or communities' health status to determine the effects of the exposure

Incubation Period

The time interval from exposure to an infectious agent to the onset of symptom of an infectious disease

Index Case

The first case coming to the attention of health authorities

Indirect Transmission

transfer of an agent from a reservoir to a host either by being suspended in air particles (airborne), carried by an inanimate objects (vehicleborne), or carried by an animate intermediary (vectorborne).

Pathogen

A biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. ( Most are infectious microbes, such as bacteria or viruses. Others could be parasites, such as fungi or protozoans.) Alias infectious agent

Prevalence Rate

The proportion of a population that has a particular disease, injury, other health condition, or attribute at a specific point in time ( point prevalence) or during a specified period ( period prevalence)

Propagated Outbreak

An outbreak that spreads from person to person rather than from a common source

Quarantine

The separation of well persons who have been exposed or are suspected to have been exposed to a communicable disease, to monitor for illness and to prevent potential transmission of infection to susceptible persons during the incubation period.

Risk

The probability that an individual will be affected by, or die from, an illness or injury within a stated time or age span.

Secondary Attack Rate

A measure of frequency of new cases of a disease among the contacts of known patients

Source Case

The first case responsible for transmitting onfection to others.

Vaccination

Injection of killed or weakened infectious organism in order to prevent the disease

Vector

A living intermediary that carries an agent from a reservoir to a susceptible host ( ex. mosquitos)

Virulence

the ability of an infectious agent to cause severe disease, measured as the proportion of persons with the disease who become severely ill or die.

Zoonosis

An infectious disease that is transmissible from animals to humans.