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Communicable Disease - a disease that spreads from one host to other, either directly or indirectly
Endogenous Infection - is an infection caused by an infectious agent that is present on or in the host
prior to the start of the infection.
Fulminating Infection - coming on suddenly and with great severity; infection that results in the death of the
patient over a short period of time;
Nosocomial Infections - or healthcare associated infections occur when a person develops an infection
during their time at a healthcare facility.
Incidence - is a measure of the number of new cases of a characteristic that develop in a population in a
specified time period
Prevalence - is the proportion of a population who have a specific characteristic in a given time period,
regardless of when they first developed the characteristic.
3. According To Occurrence of Infection
Sporadic – refers to a disease that occurs infrequently and irregularly; occurs occasionally.
Epidemic disease - acquired by many hosts in a given area in a short time; many people develop
disease in a given locality at a short period of time
Zoonosis - disease that occurs primarily in wild and domestic animals but can be transmitted to
humans
Acute Disease- develops rapidly but lasts for short period of time ( ex. common colds)
Chronic Disease - develops more slowly & occur for long period ( ex. tuberculosis)
Latent Disease - causative organism remains inactive for a time but can become active & produce
symptoms of disease (Ex: Shingles- disease that is caused by same virus that causes chicken pox.
5. According To Extent of Host Involvement
Local Infection - invading microorganisms are limited to a relatively small area of the body.
Focal Infection - a local infection enters blood or lymphatic vessel & spread to specific parts where they
become confined to the specific area of the body (ex. can arise from teeth, sinuses)
Systemic or Generalized Infection - invading microorganisms or their products are spread throughout
the body by blood or lymph.
1. INCUBATION PERIOD - the time interval between entry of microorganism & the first appearance of s/s.
2. PRODROMAL PERIOD - mild symptoms of a disease w/c are non-specific (fever, cough, colds, malaise)
3. PERIOD OF ILLNESS - period of maximal invasion. The disease is most acute during this period
Carrier state - pt. does not show s/s but still continues to shed infecting microorganisms
4. PERIOD OF DECLINE – Period of defervescence- s/s start to subside. - patient Vulnerable to secondary
infections
5. PERIOD OF CONVALESCENCE - patient regains strength, body returns to its pre-diseased normal
RESERVOIRS OF INFECTION
The pathogen can multiply or merely survive until it is transferred to a host. - living hosts or inanimate
objects or materials
Living (animals , humans)
Non-living (can be found in soil (clostridium tetani & water vibrio cholera, salmonella)
LIVING RESERVOIRS
1. HUMAN CARRIERS
most important reservoirs of human infectious diseases are other humans
people with infectious diseases as well as carriers. Carrier is a person who is colonized with a
particular pathogen, but the pathogen is not currently causing disease in that person.
There are Several Types of Carriers:
Passive Carriers - carry the pathogen without ever having had the disease.
Incubatory Carrier - a person who is capable of transmitting a pathogen during the incubation
period of a particular infectious disease.
Convalescent Carriers - harbor and can transmit a particular pathogen while recovering from an
infectious disease
Active Carriers - have completely recovered from the disease, but continue to harbor the
pathogen indefinitely
2. ANIMALS
As previously stated, infectious diseases that humans acquire from animal sources are called zoonotic
diseases or zoonoses.
Many pets and other animals are important reservoirs of zoonoses.
Zoonoses are acquired by direct contact with the animal, by inhalation or ingestion of the pathogen, or by
injection of the pathogen by an arthropod vector.
Example of ZOONOSES:
Rabies Virus - usually transmitted to a human through the saliva that is injected when one of
these rabid animals bites the human.
Cat and dog bites - often transfer microorganism from the mouths of these animals into tissues,
where severe infections may result.
- may cause severe brain damage to, or death of, the fetus when contracted by a woman during her
first trimester (first 3 months) of pregnancy.
- diarrheal disease, salmonellosis, is frequently acquired by ingesting Salmonella bacteria from the feces of
turtles, other reptiles, and poultry.
Arthropods - are animals, commonly associated with human infections.
- arthropod vector may first take a blood meal from an infected person or animal and
then transfer the pathogen to a healthy individual.
ROUTES OF TRANSMISSION
1. CONTACT TRANSMISSION - refers to spread of microorganism through direct contact, indirect contact
or droplet transmission.
Direct Contact – a.k.a. person to person transmission & involves direct transmission by physical contact
between the source of infection & the susceptible host. (kissing, touching). Ex. Common cold,
Respiratory tract infections, chicken pox, syphilis, gonorrhoea
Indirect Contact - refers to transmission of causative agent from reservoir to susceptible host through
non living object(fomites) Ex of common fomites: handkerchiefs, towels, spoons, toys. Ex. of diseases
are common colds, sore eyes, tuberculosis)
Droplet - is a form of contact transmission in w/c the organism is spread in droplet nuclei that travel
only short distances usually 1 meter from the reservoir to the the host. These droplets are spread in
to air by coughing, laughing, talking, sneezing. Ex: pneumonia, influenza)
2. VEHICLE TRANSMISSION - refers to transmission of organism through media such as food, water, air.
Food-borne - pathogens are transmitted through ingestion of food that are improperly cooked, poorly
refrigerated , unsanitary conditions.
ex. Food poisoning, gastroenteritis
Air-borne - refers to spread of pathogens by droplet nuclei in dust that travels >1 meter from the
reservoir to the host
ex. measles, tuberculosis
Water-borne - pathogen is spread through contaminated water
ex , typhoid fever, chole
Diseases Frequently Transmitted Through Foods and Water
1. Amebiasis (caused by the ameba, Entamoeba histolytica)
2. Botulism (caused by the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum)
3. Cholera (caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae),
4. Infectious Hepatitis (caused by hepatitis A virus)
5. Typhoid Fever (caused by the bacterium, Salmonella typhi)
3. VECTORS
are animals that carry organism from one host to another Insects (arthropods) - most important group of
vectors.
Mechanical Transmission - refers to passive transport of organism on insect’s feet or other parts. Ex:
cockroaches & flies
Biological Transmission - active transport of organism. Organism enters the insect vector after insect vector
bites an infected person.
INTERACTION BETWEEN PATHOGENS, HOSTS, AND ENVIRONMENT
CHAIN OF INFECTION
There are six components in the infectious disease process:
1. There must first be a pathogen. As an example, cold virus.
2. There must be a source of the pathogen (i.e., a reservoir). In Figure 113, the infected person on the right
(“Andy”) is the reservoir. Andy has a cold.
3. There must be a portal of exit (i.e., a way for the pathogen to escape from the reservoir). When Andy
blows his nose, cold viruses get onto his hands.
4. There must be a mode of transmission (i.e., a way for the pathogen to travel from Andy to another person)
direct contact.
5. There must be a portal of entry (i.e., a way for the pathogen to gain entry into Bob). When Bob rubs his nose.
6. There must be a susceptible host. For example, Bob would not be a susceptible host (and would, therefore, not
develop a cold)
Eliminate or contain the reservoirs of pathogens or curtail the persistence of a pathogen at the source.
Using gloves, gowns, masks, respirators, and other personal protective equipment, whenever appropriate to
do so
Using needle safety devices during blood collection.