SCIENCE: DISEASE AND

PUBLIC HEALTH

What is a
disease? What is
an epidemic?

Epidemic:

Disease:

Epidemic is a disease that

spreads rapidly to many people
within a particular region.

A disease is a particular abnormal

condition, disorder of health.
example: medical disease.
Example:

Example:
Smallpox epidemic in England
(1633-1634)
Ebola epidemic in West Africa
(2014)

smallpox

leishmaniasis

bubonic plague

hepatitis

cholera | polio

mumps

syphilis

meningitis

tuberculosis

Polio epidemic (1952)

HIV/AIDS (1980s-Now)

HIV/AIDS

malaria

cooties

influenza

chicken pox

dengue

obesity

yellow fever

smoking

What is the
difference of
epidemiology
& public
health?

Epidemiology is a study of the

distributions and determinants
(definition: a factor which decisively
affects the nature or outcome of
something) of diseases in populations.
its the key quantitative discipline
that underpins public health
efforts of society to prevent
disease and promote health
PUBLIC HEALTH focuses more to the
health of a community.
focuses more of the future of health,
and is the scientific core of
epidemiology.

What role
should
governments
play in
ensuring
public health?

Free health care, regularly

check up especially in rural
areas and improve their
medicine facilities.

Threats to
Public Health

Statistics have shown that in

the 21st century, diseases
spread rapidly around the
whole world.
Even though a certain
community strives to
maintain public health,
diseases may come from
other places.

When should
we quarantine
a whole
city/country?

When the epidemic

affects/infects a large amount
of the population and can grow
exponentially.

questions to
critically
discuss

When should
you give up on
saving a
patients life?

Should doctors
sacrifice their
lives to treat
victims with
epidemics?

Should we
strive for a
world without
disease?

Is it worth
sacrificing a few
lives to develop
a cure to a fatal
disease?

Doctors who
cure their
patients for the
money.