Infectious Diseases Flashcards
(49 cards)
_____________ are illnesses caused by pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and rarely, protein chains called prions.
Infectious Diseases
____________________ are a subset of infectious diseases made up of illnesses transmitted directly from person to person.
Communicable Diseases
A ____________ is an organism that harbors pathogens that are harmless to the organism but cause disease to a human host.
vector
____________ are single celled microorganisms that live in water, inside the human body, in organic matter, and on inorganic surfaces or objects.
Bacteria
___________, one of the smallest disease agents, must grow and multiply inside the living cells of a host.
Viruses
________ are plantlike microorganisms, most of which are not pathogenic.
Fungi
___________ are a common cause of disease where sanitation is poor, generally in developing countries, although cases are still found in developed countries.
Parasites
The _______ period begins when the pathogen enters the body by evading the host’s outermost layers of defense, such as skin or acidic mucous secretions.
latent
The ____________ period is the interval between exposure to the pathogen and the onset of symptoms.
incubation
A period of _____________ follows the latent stage. This stage lasts as long as the agent remains in the body and can be spread to other people.
communicability
_____________ is the branch of medicine concerned with studying the causes, distribution, and control of disease in a population.
epidemiology
____________________ have been associated with transmission of Hepatitis B and C viruses.
sharps injuries
The best means of preventing transmission of infection agents remains the most basic one:
effective hand washing
An __________ disease is one that is present in the community at a given baseline level over time, such as herpes or chicken pox.
endemic
An ____________ is a disease outbreak in which more than the usual number of people in a community or region become infected with the same disease.
epidemic
A __________ is an epidemic that sweeps the globe.
pandemic
A ___________ is necessary if a pathogenic agent is to leave one host to invade another.
portal of exit
The ________ is the site at which the pathogenic agent enters a new host.
portal of entry
An _________ is a molecule the immune system does not recognize as its own.
antigen
_________ increases metabolic needs, necessitating more oxygen and nutrients to carry out physiologic functions.
Fever
________ is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants, older people, and immunocompromised people.
RSV
TB infection or _______ means only that exposure to TB has occurred.
latent TB
_______ refers to active TB illness verified by laboratory testing and a positive chest radiograph.
TB disease
HIV s a double-stranded _______ that attacks the immune system by infecting and destroying CD4 lymphocytes, which reduces the ability to fight off infection.
retrovirus
