Unit 1.4 Medical Interventions

epidemic

Affecting an atypically large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time

Epidemiology

the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health.

herd immunity

The resistance of a group to an attack by a disease to which a large proportion of the members of the group are immune

Inoculation

The introduction of a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to stimulate the production of antibodies.

Plasmid

A small ring of DNA that carries accessory genes separate from those of the bacterial chromosome

Recombinant DNA

A DNA molecule made in vitro with segments from different sources.

restriction enzymes

enzyme that cuts DNA at a sequence of nucleotides

vaccination

A procedure that presents the immune system with a harmless variant of a pathogen, thereby stimulating the immune system to mount a long-term defense against the pathogen

vaccine

A harmless variant or derivative of a pathogen that stimulates a host's immune system to mount defenses against the pathogen

immunity

the ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin by the action of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells.

active immunity

occurs when the person is exposed to a live pathogen, develops the disease, and becomes immune as a result of the primary immune response

passive immunity

a short-term immunization by the injection of antibodies that are not produced by the recipients cell. example: breast milk

1st vaccine and who did it?

Dr Edward Jenner

Smallpox virus

attenuated vaccine

made from "live" viruses that can still replicate in a host cell

Toxoid vaccines

chemically or thermally modified toxins used to stimulate active immunity

John Snow

father of epidemiology

eradicate

to remove or destroy completely

Pandemic

an epidemic that is geographically widespread

outbreak

A sudden rise in the incidence of a disease

Macrophages

swallow up and digest germs, leave behind germ antigens; stimulates body to attack

Antibodies

Produced by B lymphocytes and destroy antigens

T lymphocytes

attack cells in the body that have already been infected

memory cells

t-lymphocytes

B lymphocytes

produce antibodies

Jenner

Father of immunology

subunit vaccines

Include only parts of the virus or bacteria, or subunits, instead of the entire germ.

conjugate vaccines

attaches a weak antigen to a strong antigen; fights different type of bacteria with polysaccharide lining

booster shot

reminds the immune system of the antigen

Titer

blood test that measures the amount of antibodies in blood; commonly used as an indicator of immune status

subcutaneous injection

the administration of medication by injection into the fatty layer just below the skin

intramuscular injection

the administration of medication by injection directly into muscle tissue

intradermal injection

the administration of medication by injection into the middle layers of the skin

oral

Given through the mouth

Nasal

given through the nose

Vector

vehicle for movement of genetic information

recombinant vaccines

subunit vaccines produced by genetic modification

Cholera

an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food

attack rate

an incidence rate calculated for a particular population for a single disease outbreak and expressed as a percentage

epidemic curve

a graphic plotting of the distribution of cases by time of onset

Surveillance

First step in a public health approach to solve problems

Risk Factor Identification

What is the cause? Second step in the public health approach to solve problems

Intervention/Evaluation

What works? Third step in the public health approach to solve problems

Implementation

How do you do it? Fourth step in the public health approach to solve problems

public health informatics

Methods for collecting, compiling and presenting health information

Data collection, assessment, hypothesis testing, and action

Four-step Scientific approach to solve health problems include

host, agent, environment

Epidemiologists use a model for studying infectious disease and its spread that involves the microbe that causes the disease, the organism that harbors the disease, and the external factors that cause or allow disease transmission. This is also known as

cluster

group of cases in a specific time and place that might be more than expected

rate

number of cases occurring during a specific period; always dependent on the size of the population during that period

endemic

disease or condition present among a population at all times

The number of cases of illness

To begin calculating the rate of this outbreak, investigators should first determine

experimental study

A study in which the researcher controls certain factors within the study from the beginning

observational study

A study in which the researcher does not control the circumstances

analytic studies

the epidemiologist relies on comparisons between different groups to determine the role of different causative conditions or risk factors.

descriptive epidemiology

the epidemiologist collects information that characterizes and summarizes the health event or problem.

Questionnaires, surveys

Individual data sources

Notifications to health departments

health care providers data sources

river, water, soil

Environmental data sources

cross-sectional study

Study similar to a survey in that it provides a snapshot of the population at a point in time

cohort study

study that measures variables of a group of people over time

Case-control study

A type of epidemiologic study where a group of individuals with the diseases, referred to as case-patients, are compared to individuals without the disease, referred to as control subjects