COMMUNICABLE DISEASE

Communicable Disease Definition of Terms

• Communicable Disease

An illness due to a specific infectious agent or its toxic product

transmitted directly or indirectly

• Infectious Disease

Disease of man or animal resulting from infection

• Contagious Disease

An illness which arises only through the direct transmission of the

infectious agent from a reservoir to a susceptible host and is easily transmitted

• Carrier

Persons who without symptoms of a communicable disease harbors the specific

agent and may serve as source of infection

• Contact

Person/ animals known to have been in close association with an infected person

or animal as to have been presumably exposed to infection

• Contamination

Contamination of a surface, article or substance means the presence

of pathogenic agents on or in it.

• Isolation

Separation for the period of communicability of infected persons from

other person to prevent the direct or indirect conveyance of the infectious

agent to susceptible others

• Reservoir

Where infectious agents lives and multiplies and depends for survival

• Vector

Arthropodes or other invertebrates

• Vehicle of transmission

Matter in or upon which pathogenic agents are present and survive until there

is physical contact with persons

• Infection

Successful entry and multiplication of an infectious agent into a living body

• Suspect

A person whose medical history suggest to have developed such infection

• Patient

Person who shows signs and symptoms of the disease

• Incubation period

represents the time elapsing between the introduction of the causative agent

in the body and first appearance of signs and symptoms

• Prodromal period

The interval elapsing between the earliest appearance of signs and symptoms and

the occurrence of fever or rash

Communicable DiseaseTRIAD

Essential Elements in Communicable Disease

AGENT- microorganism that is living and capable of invading and multiplying in the

body of the host

HOST- living body, man or animal

Types: infected body

susceptible body

ENVIRONMENT- encompasses the ways and means of transmission of the

infectious agents from the infected body to the susceptible body

Types: indirect and direct

Communicable Disease of the Nervous System

• Tetanus

• Meningitis

• Encephalitis

• Poliomyelitis

• Rabies

• Leprosy ***

• Communicable Disease

Nervous System

• Tetanus(lock Jaw)

Tetanus- acute infection associated with painful muscular spasm