Epidemiology and Public Health Chapter 11 Quiz

Infections and Epidemiology

• The Spanish flu killed over 20 million people worldwide in 1918.
• Papua New Guinea consistently reports cases of Malaria, but no cases have been reported in Canada.
• An Ebola outbreak occurred in a small district in Uganda in September 2022 and spread to 9 neighboring districts.

Types of Infections

• Pandemic: The Spanish flu killed over 20 million people worldwide in 1918.
• Endemic: Papua New Guinea consistently reports cases of Malaria.
• Epidemic: An Ebola outbreak occurred in a small district in Uganda in September 2022.

Public Health Agency of Canada

• The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention.
• Formed in 2004, it is part of the Health Portfolio.
• The Deputy Minister responsible for the agency is the Chief Public Health Officer, who reports to the Minister of Health.
• Each province is managed uniquely, with Ontario having 34 Public Health Units.

Epidemiology Terminology

• Incidence: The number of new cases of a disease.
• Prevalence: The number of existing cases of a disease.
• Point prevalence: The number of cases of a disease existing in a given population during a specific time period.
• Period prevalence: The number of cases of a disease existing in a given population at a particular moment in time.
• Morbidity rate: The number of new cases of a disease that occurred during a specified time period per a specifically defined population.
• Mortality rate: The ratio of the number of people who died of a disease during a specified time period per a specified population.

Epidemiology Terminology Examples

• Deaths: 8.8 deaths/1,000 population in Canada in 2018 (Mortality rate)
• New cases: 1,598,354 new cases of Chlamydia in the United States in 2016 (Incidence)
• Existing cases: 452 cases of Influenza on December 18, 2023 (Point prevalence)
• Total cases: 4,520 cases of COVID-19 reported in 2023 (Period prevalence)
• Disease rate: 497 cases of Chlamydia per 100,000 population (Morbidity rate)

Controlling and Preventing Epidemics

• Increase host resistance
• Protect those who are infected
• Segregate those who are contagious
• Identify and control reservoirs
• Lot of surveillance (e.g. hospitals, nursing homes)
• Sanitation

Specific Strategies

• Hand hygiene
• Maintaining good nutrition and adequate rest and reducing stress
• Immunizations
• Insect and rodent control measures
• Patient isolation procedures
• Decontamination of surfaces and medical instruments
• Disposing infectious wastes properly
• Using PPE
• Using needle safety devices during blood collection

Relevance of Public Health

• Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.
• Focuses on improving and protecting community health and well-being.
• Public Health Agencies work to promote and protect the health of the entire population.

Pathology and Epidemiology

• Pathology studies the structural and functional manifestations of disease.
• Epidemiology studies the who, what, when, where, and why of diseases to prevent, control, or eradicate diseases.

Communicable and Contagious Diseases

• Communicable disease: An infectious disease that can be transmitted from one person to another (e.g. Gonorrhoeae).
• Contagious disease: A communicable disease that is easily transmitted from person to person (e.g. Influenza).
• True: All contagious diseases are communicable diseases.
• False: All communicable diseases are contagious diseases.