World Health Organization Definition and Levels of Health Quiz

Definition of Health and Disease

• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Types of Agents

• Biological agents that can initiate or perpetuate a disease process include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
• Hypercholesterolemia and abnormalities in metabolism are examples of metabolic agents.

Disease Transmission and Characteristics

• Miliana Rubra (bungang araw, redness of skin fold, heat stroke) can be caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures and humidity.
• The nature of disease is a dynamic process involving the interaction of an infectious agent, a susceptible host, and an environment conducive to the spread of disease.
• Physical agents that can lead to health problems include radiation, heat, and mechanical forces.

Transmission Mechanisms

• The term for the mechanism in which an infectious agent is transported from the reservoir to a susceptible human host is transmission.
• Direct transmission involves the unprotected host touching the patient, specimen, or a contaminated object (reservoir).
• Indirect transmission involves a vehicle that passes an infectious agent immediately to the host, which may be a vehicle, vector, intermediate host, or contaminated article.

Characteristics of Infectious Agents

• Virulence is a characteristic that directly relates to man and measures the severity of the reactions of an infectious agent, in terms of fatality.
• Infectivity is a characteristic that measures the ability of an infectious agent to enter and colonize a host.
• Pathogenicity is a characteristic that measures the ability of an infectious agent to cause disease in a host.
• Immunogenicity is a characteristic that refers to the ability of an infectious agent to stimulate the host to produce a defense mechanism.

Radiation and Health Effects

• Ionizing radiation can result in eye injury and skin damage, including accelerated aging.
• Infrared radiation can cause thermal damage to the cornea, iris, or lens (cataract formation).

Mechanical Agents

• Mechanical agents, such as chronic friction from vibrating tools (Jackhammer), can lead to vasospasms of fingers and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Reservoir and Vehicle

• The term for the reservoir in which an infectious agent lives, multiplies, and depends primarily for survival is a natural reservoir.
• A vehicle is an inanimate object, such as food, water, or air, that can pass an infectious agent to a susceptible host.

Test your knowledge about the World Health Organization's definition of health and the different levels of health. Explore concepts such as complete physical, mental, and social well-being, as well as the different states of health from excellent to ill.