Infection

Terms:

INFECTION – entrance of MO into the tissues of the body

CONTAMINATION – act of soiling materials with MO

INFECTIOUS DSE – one resulting from an infection with pathogenic MO

COMMUNICABLE DSE – an infectious disease transmitted naturally from one
person to the other

CONTAGIOUS DSE – acquired through personal contact or directly from one
person to the other

ENDEMIC DSE- where one small number of cases occur constantly throughout
a year in a given population

EPIDEMIC DSE – one where large number of cases develop in a given
population within a short period of time.

PANDEMIC DSE – an epidemic disease that spreads and affects several
countries within a short period of time

QUARANTINE – limitation of freedom of movement of persons exposed to
communicable diseases


Sources of infection

1. typical causes are those who are actually sick
2. unrecognized cases whose illness is so mild that it cannot be detected easily
3. suspect is a person with sign and symptoms that suggest that he may have or be developing communicable diseases
4. contact is a person exposed to an infection or associated with an infected person
5. carriers-

• convalescent – is one who has just recovered from an attack of disease
• healthy – is one who harbors the pathogen MO but (-) for disease

Principal methods of transmitting disease

1. infection through personal contact

• through actual body contact
• contaminated hands
• fomites
• droplet infection

2. infection through dust which are contaminated by bacteria
3. infection through water, milk and food contaminated with pathogen MO which enters GIT
4. Infection through insects. The carrier or vector is an insect


Methods of transmission of INSECT

1. biological – where the causative organism develop in the body of the
insect before they become infected to man
2. mechanical – where the causative organism are carried
mechanically in the feet or body of insect.