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.

Test your knowledge on epidemiology, pathogens, hosts, chain of infection, reservoirs of infection, modes of transmission, and the role of public health agencies in Canada. Explore the key concepts from Chapter 11 of the textbook related to epidemiology and public health.