Chapter 26 Infectious Diseases Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is the difference between an epidemic, pandemic, and endemic?
The number of diseases remains steady in a specific area is an endemic, a rising case load in a specific area is a epidemic. When a disease infects large numbers of people and spreads across the world it is a pandemic.
What is the number one protective measure for preventing spread of infectious disease by EMS personnel?
Hand hygiene
What is a vector?
An organism that harbors pathogens that are harmless to the organism but cause disease when transmitted to a human host
What is the name of the act that requires medical facilities to release the test results of patents suspected of having aids, TB, or meningitis?
Ryan white comprehensive care act
What is virulence?
The ability of an organism to invade and create disease in a host. It also encompasses the organisms ability to survive outside the living host. For example, HIV does not pose a risk outside the human body because it dies when it is exposed to light and air.
What is your ability to fight off infection?
Host resistance
What is incubation period?
The period between exposure to the organism and the first symptoms of illness
What is communicable period?
The period during which a person can transmit the illness to someone else
What disease is prevalent in institutional settings?
Legionnaires disease
What cells work together to fight infection?
B cells and T cells
What are the characteristics of meningitis?
Inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, called the meninges. Two types include bacterial and viral.
What are the signs and symptoms of meningitis?
- sudden onset fever
- severe headache
- stiff neck
- stiff hamstrings (kernig sign)
- brudzinski sign (passive flexion in one leg causes similar movement in the other leg)
- photosensitive
- pink rash that becomes purple
Who is at risk for contracting TB?
Malnourished, homeless, incarcerated, and overcrowded conditions such as institutional and health care
What is the classic presentation of TB?
Sudden weight loss, night sweats, fever, hemoptysis. Transmission commonly occurs via large airborne particles among people who live in the same area
What is pneumonia?
Inflammation of the lungs. Can be caused by bacteria, virus, or fungi. More severe when it affects already immunocompromised people.
What are the s/s of pneumonia?
High fever, chest pain, productive cough, and respiratory distress. May have diminished breath sounds.
What makes bronchitis worse?
Gerd, smoking, second hand smoke
What is epiglottitis?
Life threatening condition that causes the epiglottis and supraglottic tissues to swell, most prevalent in 2-7 year olds. Symptoms include difficulty breathing and swallowing with stridor and drooling
What virus causes mononucleosis?
Epstein-Barr virus
If gonorrhea is left untreated in a woman, what may it lead to?
Pelvic inflammatory disease
What are the SS of syphilis?
- chancres in the genital region
- skin rash
- patchy hair loss
- swollen lymph glands
What are the two types of the herpes simplex?
Type 1- transmitted via contact of oral secretions
Type 2- transmitted through sexual contact
What is hep B associated with?
Transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusion, or puncture of the skin with contaminated needles. Can also be transmitted through the shared use of razors.
SS of hep B?
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- vomiting
- general fatigue and malaise
- smell of food can provoke nausea and in smokers will notice a distaste for cigarettes
- as the disease develops, urine begins to turn dark, jaundice and scleral icterus will develop in the patient (yellowing of skin and eyes)
