COMMUNICABLE DISEASE

(GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED)

Development Studies – December 07, 2012

Public Health
Dr. Asad
 COMMUNICABLE DISEASE
May be defined as an illness that arises from
transmission of an infectious agent or its toxic
product from an infected person, animal, or
reservoir to a susceptible host, either directly
or indirectly through an intermediate plant or
animal host, vector, or environment.
‘Communicable’ and ‘Infectious’ have the
same meanings, both terms can be used
interchangeably
 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
 ATTACK RATE The proportion of those exposed to an
infectious agent who become clinically ill
 CARRIER The person that carries specific infectious agent –
and can transmit it to others – but had no clinical signs of
infection
 CASE A person identified as having a specific health problem
or disease of interest
 CASE DEFINITION Standard criteria for deciding whether
a person has a particular disease or health problem. Criteria
can be clinical, laboratory, or epidemiological
 CASE FATALITY RATE [CFR] The percentage of persons
diagnosed with a specified disease who die as a result of that
illness within a given period
 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

 CHEMOPROPHYLAXIX The administration of

drugs [usually antimicrobials] to prevent the
development or progression of an infection to actual
disease or to stop transmission and disease in others:
1. MASS CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS – Administering
drugs to the entire population
2. SELECTIVE CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS –
Administering drugs to the highest risk group
 Cont’d

 CLINICAL ILLNESS Signs and symptoms that

give evidence of an infection
 COMMUNICABLE DISEASE [Infectious disease]
An illness due to a specific infectious agent or its
toxic products that arises through transmission of that
agent or its products from an infected person, animal,
or reservoir to a susceptible host, either directly or
indirectly through an intermediate plant or animal
host, vector, or object in the environment
 CONTACT A person or animal that has had an
opportunity to acquire the infection following
association with an infected person or animal or
contaminated environment
 DRUG RESISTANCE The ability of an infectious
agent to survive despite the administration of an
antimicrobial in a dose equal to or higher than the
usual recommended dose
 ENDEMIC The continuous presence of a disease or
infectious agent within a geographical area, the usual
prevalence of a disease within such an area
 EPI Expanded program on immunization
 OUTBREAK OR EPIDEMIC The
occurrence of cases of an illness with a
frequency that is clearly in excess of what is
expected in a given region, therefore,
demanding emergency control measures
 EPIDEMIC THRESHOLD The minimum
number of cases indicating the beginning of an
outbreak
 EPIDEMIOLOGY The study of the distribution
and determinants of disease in time , place, and
person
 EXPOSURE Meeting with an infectious agent in a
way that may cause disease
 HOST A person or other living animal that
accommodates an infectious agent under normal
conditions. The parasite may undergo various
developmental stages in the host who may not have
symptoms
 INCIDENCE RATE The number of new cases
diagnosed or reported with a certain disease during a
defined period [usually one year] divided by the total
population in which the cases occurred
 INCUBATION PERIOD The interval from the time
of infection to the time clinical signs of illness appear
 INFECTIOUS AGENT Bacteria, viruses, fungal or
parasites or their products that can cause disease
 INNOCULUM SIZE The minimum dose of
infectious agent or its products that can cause disease
 ISOLATION Keeping infected persons or
animals in separate places or under certain
conditions for as long as they can transmit
disease. This prevents or limits the direct or
indirect transmission of the infectious agent to
those who are susceptible to infection
 MORBIDITY An incidence rate which
includes all persons within a given population
who become ill during a specific time period
 MORTALITY The total number of deaths
occurring in the local population during a
certain period [ usually one year ] divided by
the total number of people at risk
 NOTIFIABLE DISEASES Disease for
which regular, frequent, and timely
information on individual cases is considered
necessary for the prevention and control of
disease
 PREVALENCE RATE The total number of
persons having a certain disease or condition
in a stated population at a particular time or
period divided by the population at risk of the
disease or condition at that time
 PRIMARY OR INDEX CASE A person
who acquires a disease through exposure and
brings it into a population
 RESERVOIR Any person, animal, arthropod,
plant soil, etc. in which the infectious agent
normally lives and reproduces itself in such a
manner that it can be transmitted to a
susceptible host
 SECONDARY CASE A person infected by
the primary case
 THANK YOU &

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND