Infectious Diseases Terminology

Question 1

Person or animal that harbors the infectious agent/disease and can transmit it to others but does not demonstrate the signs of the disease

Answer 1

Carrier

Question 2

Exposure to a source of an infection; it implies possibility of infection

Answer 2

Contact

Question 3

Capable of being transmitted from person to person by contact or proximity. Does not need or utilize a vector.

Answer 3

Contagious

Question 4

An organims that harbos a parasitic, mutualisitic, or commensalism guest. THe host is the house and the parasite is the freeloader.

Answer 4

Host

Question 5

An organism that lives on or in a host organims and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.

Answer 5

parasite

Question 6

an infectious agent or organism that can produce disease

Answer 6

pathogen

Question 7

Invasion of the body tissues of a host by an infectious agent, regardless if it causes disease or not.

Answer 7

Infection

Question 8

A pathway into the host that gives an agent access to tissue that will allow it to multiply or act

Answer 8

Portal of entry

Question 9

A population of organisms or the specific environment in which an infectious pathogen naturally lives and reproduces; usually a living horst or a certain species.

Answer 9

Reservoir

Question 10

A pathogen that is transmissible from non human animals (typically vertebraes) to humans

Answer 10

Zoonosis

Question 11

An increase, ofen sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population and area.

Answer 11

Epidemic

Question 12

Carries the same definition of epidemic but is often for a more limited geographical areas

Answer 12

outbreak

Question 13

the constant presence of an agent or health condition within a given geographic area or population

Answer 13

endemic

Question 14

an epidemic occurring over a widespread area (multiple countries or continents) and usually affecting a substantial proportion of the population.

Answer 14

Pandemic

Question 15

Any group of viruses that are transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods.

Answer 15

arbovirus

Question 16

Resistance developed in response to an antigen (pathogen or vaccine) characterized by the presence of an antibody produced by the host.

Answer 16

Active Immunity

Question 17

When a majority of a given group is resistant/immune to a pathogen. This confers protection to unvaccinated or susceptible individuals/group by reducing the likelihood of infection or spread.

Answer 17

herd immunity

Question 18

Transfer of active humoral immunity of ready made antibodies produce by another host or synthesized. Passive immunization is used when there is a high risk of infection and inssuficient time for the body do develop its own immune repsonse. Short term.

Answer 18

Passive immunity

Question 19

Describes an illness, impairment, degradation of health, chronic, or age related disease.

Answer 19

morbidity

Question 20

time interval from a person being infected to the onset of sx of an infectious disease

Answer 20

incubation period

Question 21

time interval from a person being infected to the time of infectiousness of an infectious disease

Answer 21

latency period

Question 22

an infection that is nearly or completely asymptomatic.

Answer 22

subclinical infection

Question 23

a combination of sx, characteristic of a disease, or health condition.

Answer 23

Syndrome