Public Health & Outbreaks of Disease Flashcards
Remind yourself of the 3 domains of public health; include some examples of some subcategories within each
How are notifiable diseases (NOIDS) identified?
- Doctors clinical suspicion (if urgent)
- Confirmatory diagnosis (e.g. from pathologist if not urgent)
- Microbiology & virology confirmation
State some possible mechanisms/ways of notifying PHE of a notifiable disease
- Doctors (telephone- urgent)
- Online surveillance or notification systems
- Fax
- PHE notification form
State some example of notifiable diseases
What is epidemiology?
The science concerned with the study of the factors determining and influencing the frequency and distribution of disease, injury, and other health-related events and their causes in a defined human population
State some examples of notifiable hazards
- Chemical exposure e.g. carbon monoxide
- Radiation exposure
- New & emerging infections e.g. new strains of influenza
- Cases that occur as part of an outbreak e.g. CDiff, norovirus
- Other infections where vulnerable contacts are at risk e.g. infection in healthcare worker
Describee how communicable diseases spread
- Source: where is the disease/infective agent coming from?
- Pathway: how is it transmitted?
- Receptor: who is susceptible population?
Describe the epidemiological triangle
Model made to help understand infectious diseases and how they spread
Describe the difference between:
- Point source outbreak
- Extended outbreak
- Propagated outbreak
- Point source: shorter period of time, generally just spread to contacts
- Extended outbreak: lasts longer
- Propagated outbreak: like seasonal flu
State some control measures which are put in place when there is a notifiable diease/outbreak to stop others getting disease
- Identify close contacts
- Chemoprophylaxis for close contacts (to eradciate carriage)
- Environmental sampling (to determine source) and cleaning of fomites (objects or materials likely to carry infection)
- Giving professional information to people e.g. PPE, clinical manifestations, media briefings etc..
- Warning and informing others of disease inlcuding symptoms and when to seek help
Do we contain/isolate people if they have a communicable disease?
Yes, we can put people in quarantine
What’s the difference between homelessness and sleeping rough?
- Homelessness: not having home- this an include people living in shelters, staying with friends/family, people threatened by eviction, people living in unfit conditions, people who sleep rough
- Sleeping rough: people who are bedding down in open air or places not designed for habitation
Idea that can be homeless but not necessarily sleeping rough
Describe what you must do when investigating an outbreak
State some social issues if an outbreak is in the homeless population
Where do doctors fit into to public health and issues regarding notifiable diseases and outbreaks?
Idea involved in lots of different stages…
Following an outbreak of Strep A in homeless & rough sleeping population in Nottingham, what are 4 reccomendations following this outbreak?
Also had interventions such as:
- Rough sleeping grant
- Housing first intervention
Compare epidemic and pandemic
State some diseases which are airborne spread
- TB
- Chickenpox
- Aspergillus
Describe the methods of direcet, indirect and vector
