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Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Epidemiologists face challenges in identifying appropriate frameworks and measures for studying diseases, such as how to study and predict asymptomatic infections and how to handle new infectious disease outbreaks.

• Epidemiologists engage with multiple disciplines and colleagues in basic science laboratories and government officials to communicate findings with policymakers and the public.

• Infectious disease epidemiology examines the work of epidemiologists, assesses disease trends and re-emergence, and illustrates major infectious disease classification systems.

• Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms or infectious proteins called prions and may evolve over time as new organisms emerge and human behavior and environments change.

• Early definitions and concepts of disease included the miasma theory, which stated that different disturbances charged the air with poisonous vapors that spread disease.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists work to identify the etiology of observed diseases and understand how a host, pathogen, and environment interact in a dynamic process that influences the course of infection.

• Epidemiologists take a medical disease detective viewpoint and use pattern recognition to identify patterns in morbidity, mortality, and risk factors.

• Measures epidemiologists calculate include incidence proportion, prevalence, mortality rate, proportionate mortality ratio, and case fatality rate.

• Mapping has been an essential approach to visualizing disease outbreaks and assessing where cases are clustered or scattered.

• To understand the relationships between exposures and outcomes, epidemiology uses a number of different study designs, such as descriptive, analytic, observational, and experimental.

• Study design choice depends on the research question and hypothesis, available resources, and types of exposures and outcomes.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists are "shoe leather" epidemiologists and often interact with individuals in the community or with public officials to get a better understanding of what is happening or causing a disease, and observe and sample the environment.Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Louis Pasteur's demonstration in the 1860s proved that spontaneous generation was not possible, and molecular epidemiology has transformed the study of infectious diseases in the past 50 years.

• High-throughput techniques, such as PFGE and RFLP analysis, and PCR have provided valuable insights into disease pathogenesis, causation, transmission, prevention, and therapy.

• In the short time frame of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-hospital mortality rates rapidly decreased due to best practices and increased familiarity with new procedures.

• Despite the belief that almost all major practical problems dealing with infectious disease had been solved by the end of WWII, infectious diseases remain a leading cause of death worldwide in the 21st century.

• Population density, poor housing, inadequate sanitation and water supply, and waste management in urban areas may lead to increased zoonotic, vector-borne, or soil-transmitted helminth disease.

• The increased connectivity and mobility between people and populations means that pathogens can spread quickly between populations, and societal issues like war, migration, and climate change force populations to be exposed to pathogens.

• The epidemiologic triad provides a framework for thinking about disease transmission and intervention, with the vertices being agent, host, and environment.

• Dr. D.A. Henderson led the campaign to eradicate smallpox by identifying every case, vaccinating every person exposed, and promoting ring vaccination and surveillance until the last known case of wild smallpox infection was found in 1977.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists face challenges in identifying appropriate frameworks and measures for studying diseases, making predictions regarding asymptomatic infections, deciding on the target population of interest, and communicating findings with policy makers and the public.

• Incidence and prevalence are important measures for understanding disease, with incidence filling the jar and the only ways out being deaths and recovery/cure.

• In 2021, the incidence and death rates of COVID-19 were higher for American Indians and Alaska Natives than for Non-Hispanic Whites.

• The epidemiologic triad and classification schemes based on causative agent, mode of transmission, and reservoir or source of the pathogen aid in identifying treatment and prevention strategies.Understanding Incidence, Prevalence, and Mortality in Health Disparities

• Incidence refers to the number of new cases of a disease in a population over a specific time period.

• Prevalence refers to the total number of cases of a disease in a population at a specific time.

• Mortality refers to the number of deaths caused by a disease in a population over a specific time period.

• Incidence, prevalence, and mortality are important measures for understanding health disparities.

• Health disparities refer to differences in health outcomes between different groups of people.

• The incidence rate of COVID-19 among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations is 1.9 times higher than among non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations.

• The mortality rate of COVID-19 among AI/AN populations is 2.4 times higher than among NHW populations.

• The prevalence of COVID-19 among AI/AN populations is likely higher than among NHW populations due to the higher incidence and mortality rates.

• Public health measures can be taken to balance the prevalence of COVID-19 among different populations.

• The "gum ball" analogy is a useful tool for understanding the relationship between incidence, prevalence, and mortality.

• Food poisoning is considered an infectious disease even though it cannot be transmitted to others because it is caused by a bacterium.

• Other metrics, such as morbidity and disability-adjusted life years, can be used to assess the success of dealing with infectious diseases.

Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Epidemiologists face challenges in identifying appropriate frameworks and measures for studying diseases, such as how to study and predict asymptomatic infections and how to handle new infectious disease outbreaks.

• Epidemiologists engage with multiple disciplines and colleagues in basic science laboratories and government officials to communicate findings with policymakers and the public.

• Infectious disease epidemiology examines the work of epidemiologists, assesses disease trends and re-emergence, and illustrates major infectious disease classification systems.

• Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms or infectious proteins called prions and may evolve over time as new organisms emerge and human behavior and environments change.

• Early definitions and concepts of disease included the miasma theory, which stated that different disturbances charged the air with poisonous vapors that spread disease.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists work to identify the etiology of observed diseases and understand how a host, pathogen, and environment interact in a dynamic process that influences the course of infection.

• Epidemiologists take a medical disease detective viewpoint and use pattern recognition to identify patterns in morbidity, mortality, and risk factors.

• Measures epidemiologists calculate include incidence proportion, prevalence, mortality rate, proportionate mortality ratio, and case fatality rate.

• Mapping has been an essential approach to visualizing disease outbreaks and assessing where cases are clustered or scattered.

• To understand the relationships between exposures and outcomes, epidemiology uses a number of different study designs, such as descriptive, analytic, observational, and experimental.

• Study design choice depends on the research question and hypothesis, available resources, and types of exposures and outcomes.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists are "shoe leather" epidemiologists and often interact with individuals in the community or with public officials to get a better understanding of what is happening or causing a disease, and observe and sample the environment.Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Louis Pasteur's demonstration in the 1860s proved that spontaneous generation was not possible, and molecular epidemiology has transformed the study of infectious diseases in the past 50 years.

• High-throughput techniques, such as PFGE and RFLP analysis, and PCR have provided valuable insights into disease pathogenesis, causation, transmission, prevention, and therapy.

• In the short time frame of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-hospital mortality rates rapidly decreased due to best practices and increased familiarity with new procedures.

• Despite the belief that almost all major practical problems dealing with infectious disease had been solved by the end of WWII, infectious diseases remain a leading cause of death worldwide in the 21st century.

• Population density, poor housing, inadequate sanitation and water supply, and waste management in urban areas may lead to increased zoonotic, vector-borne, or soil-transmitted helminth disease.

• The increased connectivity and mobility between people and populations means that pathogens can spread quickly between populations, and societal issues like war, migration, and climate change force populations to be exposed to pathogens.

• The epidemiologic triad provides a framework for thinking about disease transmission and intervention, with the vertices being agent, host, and environment.

• Dr. D.A. Henderson led the campaign to eradicate smallpox by identifying every case, vaccinating every person exposed, and promoting ring vaccination and surveillance until the last known case of wild smallpox infection was found in 1977.

• Infectious disease epidemiologists face challenges in identifying appropriate frameworks and measures for studying diseases, making predictions regarding asymptomatic infections, deciding on the target population of interest, and communicating findings with policy makers and the public.

• Incidence and prevalence are important measures for understanding disease, with incidence filling the jar and the only ways out being deaths and recovery/cure.

• In 2021, the incidence and death rates of COVID-19 were higher for American Indians and Alaska Natives than for Non-Hispanic Whites.

• The epidemiologic triad and classification schemes based on causative agent, mode of transmission, and reservoir or source of the pathogen aid in identifying treatment and prevention strategies.Understanding Incidence, Prevalence, and Mortality in Health Disparities

• Incidence refers to the number of new cases of a disease in a population over a specific time period.

• Prevalence refers to the total number of cases of a disease in a population at a specific time.

• Mortality refers to the number of deaths caused by a disease in a population over a specific time period.

• Incidence, prevalence, and mortality are important measures for understanding health disparities.

• Health disparities refer to differences in health outcomes between different groups of people.

• The incidence rate of COVID-19 among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations is 1.9 times higher than among non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations.

• The mortality rate of COVID-19 among AI/AN populations is 2.4 times higher than among NHW populations.

• The prevalence of COVID-19 among AI/AN populations is likely higher than among NHW populations due to the higher incidence and mortality rates.

• Public health measures can be taken to balance the prevalence of COVID-19 among different populations.

• The "gum ball" analogy is a useful tool for understanding the relationship between incidence, prevalence, and mortality.

• Food poisoning is considered an infectious disease even though it cannot be transmitted to others because it is caused by a bacterium.

• Other metrics, such as morbidity and disability-adjusted life years, can be used to assess the success of dealing with infectious diseases.