Disease Detectives Flashcards

Immunity and Infection Terms

• Active Immunity: Resistance developed after exposure to an antigen, resulting in antibody production by the host.
• Antigen: Any foreign substance (e.g., toxins, microorganisms) recognized by the body that triggers antibody production.
• Pathogen: Biological agents causing disease, primarily infectious microbes, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans.

Disease Transmission

• Agent: A microorganism, chemical, or radiation that contributes to disease occurrence.
• Airborne Transmission: Transfer of agents through the air, classified as indirect transmission.
• Indirect Transmission: Transfer from a reservoir to a host via air particles, inanimate objects, or living intermediaries.
• Biologic Transmission: Indirect transmission where the agent undergoes biological changes in a vector before infecting a host.

Epidemiological Concepts

• Analytic Study: Observational studies comparing groups to identify associations and test hypotheses; includes cohort and case-control studies.
• Classical Epidemiology: The study of health condition distributions, determinants among populations, and control applications.
• Clinical Epidemiology: Focuses on the application of epidemiological methods to clinical problems.
• Epidemiological Triad: Model illustrating disease causation involving an agent, a susceptible host, and an environment fostering interaction.

Outbreak Metrics

• Attack Rate: The rate at which a group experiences a specific outcome in a short timeframe, commonly in outbreaks.
• Prevalence Rate: Proportion of a population with a specific disease at a certain time (point prevalence) or over a period (period prevalence).
• Propagated Outbreak: An outbreak spreading from person to person rather than a common source.

Risk Factors and Study Design

• Attribute: An inherent risk factor related to the individual, such as age, sex, or genetic susceptibility.
• Confounding Variable: A third variable that distorts the relationship between exposure and health outcomes.
• Experimental Study: Investigator-controlled studies determining the effects of specified exposures on health status in individuals or communities.

Disease Characteristics

• Incubation Period: Time from exposure to an infectious agent to the first symptoms of the disease.
• Index Case: The initial case that alerts health authorities to a disease occurrence.
• Cluster: A grouping of disease cases occurring closely in time and space, highlighting the need for further investigation.

Preventive Measures

• Quarantine: Isolation of individuals exposed to a communicable disease to monitor and prevent infection spread during the incubation period.
• Bias: Systemic errors in data handling that might lead to inaccurate conclusions, not implying intentional deviation.