Disease Detectives Key Defintions

science olympiad division c, disease detectives

Background and Surveillance

Clinical Approach

diagnosis and treatment of individual people

Public health approach

process of controlling/preventing diseases which affect a large population of people

Epidemiology (basic definition)

the branch of medicine that involves the combat of diseases & outbreaks. they solve public health issues. it is the study of diseases among certain populations. specifically how and when they occur.

Epidemiology (depth definition)

the study of the distribution and determination of health conditions or events among populations and the application of the study to control health problems.

Why are epidemiological methods used?

used for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and observational studies to identify risk factors for zoonotic disease in both human and animal populations. knowledge of these risk factors is used to direct further research investigation and to implement disease control measures. also used for disease surveillance to identify which hazards are the most important.

What are epidemiological studies used?

to identify risk factors that may represent critical control points in the food production system.

Basic Epidemiology Terms

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**Classical Epidemiology** 

population oriented, studies community origins of health problems related to nutrition, environment, human behavior, and the psychological, social, and spiritual state of a population. The event is more aimed towards this type of epidemiology.

**Clinical Epidemiology** 

studies patients in health care settings in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases and the prognosis for patients already affected by a disease. 

**Acute**

conditions that are severe and sudden (eg broken bone, asthma attack)

**Active Immunity**

resistance developed in response to the stimulus by an antigen (infecting agent or victim or vaccine) and usually characterized

Agent

any factor, which is essential for the occurrence of a disease

Attack Rate

variant of an incident rate, specified for a specific population. observed for a period of time, such as an epidemic

Census

the enumeration of an entire population: residence, age, sex, occupation, ethnic group, marital status, birth history, and relationship to head of household

Clinical Health Approach

deals with individuals and families

Chain of Infection

the infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host

Cluster

an aggregation of cases of a disease, injury, or other health conditions in a circumscribed area during a particular period without regard to whether the number of cases is more than expected

Descriptive Epidemiology

describes the distributions of disease and determinants.

Chronic

conditions that are long developing

**Epidemic**

the occurrence of more cases of disease, injury, or other health conditions than expected in a given area or among a specific group of persons during a particular period

Epidemic curve

a histogram that shows the course of a disease outbreak or epidemic by plotting the number of cases by the time of onset.

**Etiology**

the cause or causes of a disease or abnormal condition

**Fomite** 

An inanimate physical object that serves to transmit an infectious agent from person to person. An example of this is lice on a comb. The comb is the ____ and the lice are the agent that can make your hair itch.

**Herd immunity**

resistance to the spread of a contagious disease if enough members of a population are also resistant

Hippocrates

developed theories that environments influenced disease

Hypoendemic

a disease that is constantly present at a low incidence or prevalence and affects a small proportion of individuals in the area

Hyperendemic

Holoendemic

Incidence Proportion