MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY (FINALS)

Chapter 11 – Tuberculosis
Epidemiology and Public Health – Malaria

Epidemiology Interactions Among Pathogens, Hosts, and the

 Introduction Environment
– Epidemiology can be defined as the study of  Whether an infectious disease occurs depends on:
disease. – Factors pertaining to the pathogen (e.g.,
– Epidemiologist study the factors that determine virulence of pathogen, mode of entry, number of
the frequency, distribution and determinants of organisms).
diseases in human populations. – Factors pertaining to the host; these include
– Epidemiologists also develop ways to prevent, health status, nutritional status, hygiene, age,
control or eradicate diseases in populations travel, lifestyle etc.
– Factors pertaining to the environment such as
Epidemiologic Terminology physical factors (e.g., climate, season,
 A communicable disease is an infectious disease geographic location), availability of appropriate
that can be transmitted from one person to another reservoirs, sanitary and housing conditions, and
 A contagious disease is a communicable disease availability of potable water.
that is easily transmitted from person-to-person.
 A zoonotic disease is one that humans acquire from Chain of Infection
animal sources There are 6 components in the infectious disease
 The incidence of a particular disease is the number process:
of new cases of the disease in a defined population  A pathogen
during a specific time period  A source of the pathogen (a reservoir)
 The morbidity rate is the number of new cases of a  A portal of exit
particular disease that occurred during a specified  A mode of transmission
time period per a specifically defined population  A portal of entry
(usually per 1,000, 10,000 or 100,000 population.)  A susceptible host
 Prevalence
– Period prevalence is the number of cases of the
disease existing in a given population during a
specific time period (e.g., during the year 2006).
– Point prevalence is the number of cases of the
disease existing in a given population at a
particular moment in time
 Mortality Rate is the ratio of the number of people
who died of a particular disease during a specified
time period per a specified population
 A sporadic disease is one that occurs only
occasionally within the population of a particular
geographic area; example, tetanus Reservoirs of Infection
 An endemic disease is one that is always present  The sources of microorganisms that cause infectious
within the population of a particular geographic diseases are many and varied; they are known as
area; example, gonorrhea reservoirs of infection or simply reservoirs.
 An epidemic disease is defined as greater than usual – Living reservoirs- humans, pets, farm animals,
number of cases of a disease in a particular region, insects, arachnids.
usually within a short period of time; example, the – Human carriers:
Legionnaire’s disease epidemic of 1976.  Passive carriers
 A pandemic is a disease that is occurring in epidemic  Incubatory carriers
proportions in many countries simultaneously.  Convalescent carriers
Examples include:  Active carriers
– Influenza  Animals
 Example, the Spanish flu pandemic 0f 1918;  Infectious diseases that humans acquire from
more than 20 million people were killed animal sources are called zoonotic diseases or
worldwide (500,000 in the U.S.) zoonoses
– HIV/AIDS

KHRIZLYNNE SOBERANO BSN 1- STEM B

 MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY (FINALS)
 Zoonoses may be acquired by direct contact with
an animal, inhalation or I ingestion of the
pathogen, or injection of the pathogen by an
arthropod.
 Examples:
 Rabies
 Lyme disease
 Others
 Arthropods
– Many differents types of arthropods serve as
reservoirs of infection, including insects (e.g.,
fleas, mosquitos, lice) and arachnids (e.g., mites
and ticks)
– When arthropods are involved in the
transmission of infectious diseases they are
referred to as vectors.
 Examples of arthropod-borne diseases:
 Lyme disease
 Malaria
 Nonliving Reservoirs
– Air, soil, dust, contaminated water and foods,
insects, and infected humans.
– Fomites- inanimate objects capable of
transmitting pathogens (e.g., bedding, towels,
eating and drinking utensils, hospital equipment,
etc.)
Modes of Transmission
 Direct skin-to-skin contact
 Direct mucous membrane-to-mucous membrane
contact by kissing or sexual intercourse
 Indirectly by airborne droplets of respiratory
secretions, usually by sneezing or coughing
 Indirectly by contamination of food and water by
fecal matter
 Indirectly by arthropods vectors
 Indirectly by contaminated fomites
 Indirectly by transfusion of contaminated blood or
blood products or by parenteral injection using
nonsterile syringes or needles
KHRIZLYNNE SOBERANO BSN 1- STEM B
Public Health Agencies
 World Health Organization
– A specialized agency of the United Nations
founded in 1948; www.who.org
– Mission: to promote technical cooperation for
health among nations, carry out programs to
control and eradicate diseases and improve the
quality of human life
 Investigates outbreaks of Ebola virus, etc.
 Eradicated smallpox
 Attempting to eradicate polio and
dracunculiasis
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
– A federal agency administered by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Service,
Atlanta, GA. Established in 1946; www.cdc.gov
– Mission: “to promote health and quality of life
by preventing and controlling diseases, injury,
and disability…”
– Certain infectious diseases, known as nationally
notifiable diseases must be reported to the CDC.
– Publishes Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR).
 Measures for Prevention and Control of Epidemics:
– Increase host resistance through the
development and administration of vaccines that
induce active immunity and maintain it on
susceptible persons.
– Ensure that persons exposed to a pathogen are
protected against the disease
– Segregate, isolate and treat those who have
contracted a contagious infection to prevent the
spread of the pathogen to others
– Identify and control potential reservoirs and
vectors of infectious diseases
Bioterrorism and Biological Warfare Agents
 Microbes purposely used to harm others in wartime
are called biological warfare (bw0 agents.
 Pathogens used to create fear, chaos, illness and
death are called bioterrorism agents. Examples:
– Bacillus anthracis
– Clostridium botulinum
 MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY (FINALS)

– Smallpox virus (Variola major) together to coordinate preventive health programs

– Yersinia pestis
Water Supplies and Sewage Disposal
 Water is the most essential resource for the survival
of humanity!
 Sources of water contamination:
– Rainwater and groundwater (from wells) can
become contaminated by soil microbes and raw
fecal material
 Water Treatment
– The major steps in water treatment are
sedimentation, coagulation, filtration and
chlorination
– Water is tested for contamination by checking
for the presence of coliform bacteria (coliforms),
such as E. coli and other members of the family
Enterobacteriaceae
 Sewage Treatment
– Raw sewage consists mainly of water, fecal
material, garbage and bacteria
– Includes primary, secondary and tertiary sewage
treatments
and maintain constant surveillance of sources and
causes of epidemics
 Prevention and control of epidemics include
measures to increase host resistance by
immunizations; protect people from exposure to
pathogens; segregate, isolate and treat those with
contagious infections; identify and control potential
reservoirs and vectors of infectious diseases; and
institute effective sanitation measures to control
diseases transmitted through water supplies,
sewage, and food.
 The 4 most likely potential biological warfare or
bioterrorism agents are Bacillus anthracis,
Clostridium botulinum, smallpox virus, and Yersinia
pestis.
 The major steps in water treatment are
sedimentation, coagulation, filtration and
chlorination

Review of Key Points

 Epidemiology is the study of the frequency and
distribution of diseases and contributing factors
 Epidemic, endemic, pandemic and sporadic diseases
are epidemiologic terms used to describe the
prevalence of a disease in an area at a particular
time
 The sources of pathogens are known as reservoirs
of infection; they may be living reservoirs or
nonliving reservoirs
 The principal modes of transmission of pathogens:
contact, airborne, droplet, vehicular and vector
 To eradicate certain diseases and prevent
epidemics, epidemiologist must consider the
virulence of the pathogens, susceptibility of the
population, sanitation practices, reservoirs of
infection and ways in which pathogens are
transmitted
 The World Health Organization, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and public health
and community agencies, at all levels, must work

KHRIZLYNNE SOBERANO BSN 1- STEM B