Infectious Disease and Epidemiology

A set of vocabulary flashcards for understanding key concepts in infectious disease and HIV epidemiology.

Infectious Disease

Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms that spread directly or indirectly from one person to another.

Epidemiology

The branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI)

Infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions.

Standard Precautions

Infection prevention practices that apply to all patients, regardless of their infection status.

Transmission-based precautions

Additional infection control practices used when patients are known or suspected to be infected with transmissible pathogens.

Airborne precautions

Precautions that prevent infection spread through tiny airborne particles.

Droplet precautions

Precautions that prevent infection spread through large respiratory droplets.

Contact precautions

Precautions to prevent infection spread by direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

A retrovirus that causes immunosuppression, making individuals more vulnerable to infections.

Opportunistic infections

Infections that occur more frequently and are more severe in individuals with weakened immune systems.

Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)

Medications used to treat HIV infection by reducing viral load and increasing CD4+ T-cell counts.

Viral load

The amount of HIV virus present in the bloodstream.

CD4+ T-cell count

A measure of immune function in individuals with HIV, indicating health status.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)

A medication taken to prevent HIV infection in high-risk individuals.

Opportunistic cancers

Cancers that occur due to a weakened immune system, such as Kaposi sarcoma.

Perinatal transmission

HIV transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

Reverse transcriptase

An enzyme used by HIV to convert its RNA into DNA during replication.