Commonly used terms in Infectious Diseases,Epidemic,Epidemiology,Pandemic,Endemic,Hyperendemic,Sporadic,Outbreak,Prevalence

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Home >> Microbiology >> Microbial Diseases and Their Control >> Commonly used terms in Infectious Diseases

Commonly Used Terms
There are number of terms that have specific meanings and are often used with respect to infectious diseases. These terms along with their specific meanings are given in Table
Terms and their specific meanings

Terms	Specific Meanings
Disease	an impairment of the normal state of an organism or its components that hinders the performance of vital functions.
Epidemic	when a disease occurs in an unusually high number of individuals in a population at the same time.
Epidemiology	is a study fo the occurrence, determinants, distribution and control of disease in populations.

Pandemic	is the widely distributed epidemic within a large population spread atleast at continental level. Influenza outbreak of 1960s and AIDS in the 1980s are good examples.
Endemic	Is a disease that is constantly present, usually at low incidence, in a population. Common cold is a good example. In this category, the pathogen may not be highly virulent or the majority of the individuals may be immune to the pathogen.
Hyperendemic	Gradual increase in occurrence frequency beyond the endemic level but not to the epidemic level (e.g., common cold during winter).
Sporadic	a disease occurring occasionally and at irregular intervals in a population. Typhoid fever is an example.
Outbreak	is the sudden unexpected occurrence of a disease usually in relatively sort period of time in an area previously experiencing only sporadic cases of the disease.
Prevalence	is the proportion of diseased individuals in a population in a given time period no matter when the disease began.
Incidence	Is the number of cases of an individual disease in a population in a given timer period.
Carriers	infected individuals who show no symptoms or only mild symptoms (i.e., subclinically infected) are identified as carriers.
Infection	is the beginning of the microbial growth in the host.
Symptom	is the manifestation (appearance) of the disease.
Incubation period	is the time between the infection and the appearance of disease symptoms.
Acute period	is the period when disease at its height.
Mortality	is the incidence of death in the population.
Morbidity	is the incidence of disease in populations and includes both fatal and nonfatal diseases.
Reservoir	is the site in which viable infectious microbes remain alive and from which infections of individuals may take place.
Vectors	living agents that transmit pathogens. They are generally arthropods (e.g., insects, mites, ticks, fleas) or vertebrates (e.g., dogs, rodents).
Fomites	inanimate agents such as bedding, books, toys, surgical instruments, etc. that can transmit disease.
Communicable disease	is an illness caused by a pathogen or its products which has been transmitted from a carrier or a reservoir either directly or indirectly.
Pathogenecity	Potential of a pathogen to cause disease. Pathogenicity is a function of such fctors as the number of pathogens, their virulence, and the nature and magnitude of host defence.
Contact transmission	implies the coming together of the source of reservoir of the pathogen and the host.

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