Epidemiology and Public Health

Epidemiology
and Public
Health
Epidemiology
❖ Pathologist – studies the structural and
functional manifestation of disease and is
involved in diagnosing diseases in
individuals.
❖ Epidemiologist – studies the factors that
determine the frequency, distribution, and
determinants of diseases in human
populations.
Factors that includes Infectious Diseases
❑ Characteristics of various pathogens
❑ Susceptibility of different human populations resulting from
overcrowding
❑ Lack of immunization
❑ Nutritional Status
❑ Inadequate sanitation procedures
❑ Locations where pathogens are lurking
❑ Various ways in which infectious diseases are transmitted.
Epidemiologic Terminology
➢ Communicable Disease – infectious
disease that is transmissible from one
human to another.
➢ Contagious Disease – defined as
communicable disease that is easily
transmitted from one person to another.
Zoonotic Diseases
➢ infectious diseases that humans acquire
from animal sources.
Incidence and Morbidity

➢ Incidence – the number of new cases of that disease
in a defined population during a specific time period.
➢ Morbidity rate – usually expressed as the number of
new cases of a particular disease that occurred during
a specified time period and per a specifically defined
population.
Prevalence
✓ Period Prevalence – of a particular
disease is the number of cases of the
disease existing in a given population during
a specific time period.
✓ Point Prevalence – of a particular disease
is the number of cases of the disease
existing in a given population at a particular
moment in time.
Mortality Rate
❑ Mortality rate is the ratio of the number of
people who died of a particular disease during a
specified time period per a specified population.
Sporadic Diseases
❑ Sporadic Disease is a disease that occurs
only rarely and without regularity within the
population of a particular geographic area.
Endemic Disease
❖ are diseases that are always present within
the population of a particular geographic area.
Epidemic Disease
❖ is defined as a greater than usual number of
cases of a disease in a particular region.
Pandemic Disease
❖ is a disease that occurs in epidemic
proportions in many countries simultaneously.
Interactions Between Pathogens,
Hosts, and Environments
✓ Factors Pertaining to the Pathogen
✓ The virulence of the pathogen
✓ A way for the pathogen to enter the body
✓ The number of organisms that enter the body
✓ Factors Pertaining to the Host
✓ The person’s health status
✓ The person’s nutritional status
✓ Other factors pertaining to susceptibility of the host
Interactions Between Pathogens,
Hosts, and Environments
✓ Factors Pertaining to the environment
✓ Physical factors such as geographic location, climate,
heat, cold, humidity, and season of the year
✓ Availability of appropriate reservoir, intermediate host,
and vectors
✓ Sanitary and housing conditions, adequate waste
disposal, adequate health care
✓ Availability of potable water
Chain of Infection
• There must be a pathogen
• There must be a source of the
pathogen
• There must be portal of exit
• There must be a mode of
transmission
• There must be a portal of entry
• There must be a susceptible
host.
Strategies for Breaking the Chain of
Infection
Some broad goals are:
❖Eliminate or contain the reservoirs of pathogens or

curtail the persistence of a pathogen at the source.
❖ Prevent contact with infectious substances from exit
pathway
❖ Eliminate means of transmission
❖ block exposure to entry pathways
❖ reduce or eliminate the susceptibility of potential hosts
Infection
Some of the specific methods of breaking the
chain of infection are:
❖ practicing effective hand hygiene procedures
❖ maintaining good nutrition and adequate rest
and reduce stress
❖ obtaining immunizations against common
pathogen
Infection
❖ practicing insect and rodent control measures
❖ practicing proper patient isolation procedures
❖ ensuring proper decontamination of surfaces
and medical instruments
❖ disposing sharps and infectious wastes
properly
Infection
❖ using gloves, gowns, masks, respirators, and
other personal protective equipment, whenever
appropriate to do so
❖ Using needle safety devices during blood
collection
Reservoir of Infection
❖ Living Reservoirs
❖ Human Carriers
❖ Passive carriers – carry the pathogen without ever having had the disease.
❖ Incubatory carriers – is a person who is capable of transmitting a pathogen
during the incubation period of a particular infectious disease.
❖ Convalescent carriers – harbor and can transmit a particular pathogen
while recovering from an infectious disease
❖ Active Carriers – have completely recovered from the disease, but continue
to harbor the pathogen indefinitely.
❖ Animals
❖ Arthropods
Bioterrorism and Biologic Warfare
Agents
❖ The use of microbes are referred to as

Biological Warfare, and the microbes are
referred to as biologic warfare agents.
Four of the Pathogens most often
discussed as potential BW and
Bioterrorism Agents
❖ Bacillus anthracis – spore-forming, gram-positive
bacillus
❖ C. botulinum – spore-forming, anaerobic gram-positive
bacillus.
❖ Smallpox virus (Variola major) – contagious, and
sometimes fatal viral disease.
❖ Y. pestis – gram-negative coccobacillus.
Water Supplies and Sewage
Disposal
•Sources of Water Contamination

• Rainwater
• Groundwater
Disposal
Disposal
Sewage
Treatment

Epidemiology and Public Health

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Epidemiology and Public Health

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Epidemiology

Incidence and Morbidity

❖Eliminate or contain the reservoirs of pathogens or

❖ The use of microbes are referred to as

•Sources of Water Contamination

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