TERM 1 SUMMARY QUESTIONS Flashcards
(122 cards)
what is an outbreak?
a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease in a particular time and place
what is the chain of infection pathway?
microorganism reservoir pathway from reservoir mode of transmission path of entry susceptible host
what is surveillance?
the ongoing and systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data in the process of describing and monitoring a health event.
what’s the importance of surveillance?
early warning system for public health emergencies
documenting the impact of interventions
monitoring epidemiology of health problems
what is sentinel surveillance?
monitoring the rate of occurrence of specific diseases
what is passive surveillance?
gathers disease data from all potential reporting health care workers continuously to monitor health trends
what is active surveillance?
data collected specifically
how can we control healthcare associated infections?
good hospital hygeine, isolate cases, improve education, good hand hygeine, PPE use, safe use/disposing of sharps, aseptic technique
what is an epidemic?
the rapid spread of infectious diseases to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time
what turns an epidemic into a pandemic?
if it spreads to other countries and affects a substantial number of people
what’s the role of WHO?
provide leadership on matters critical to health shaping the research agenda setting norms and standards providing technical support monitor the health situation
what was the vaccination act of 1853?
introduction of the smallpox vaccine as free and compulsory
what was the vaccination act of 1898?
the inclusion of the conscientious clause to allow exemption from vaccination
what are the benefits of vaccinations?
they save lives ingredients are safe in small amounts that are used adverse reactions are extremely rare protect the herd protects future generation can eradicate diseases
what are the cons of vaccinations?
can sometimes cause serious/fatal side effects
contain harmful ingredients
mandatory
vaccinations infringe on religious freedom
they contain ingredients that some people consider objectionable or immoral
they’re unnatural
pharmaceutical companies main goal is to make profit
some diseases they target are relatively harmless
what are the 3 main goals of the vaccination policies?
individual immunity
herd immunity
eradication of disease
what is R0?
the basic reproductive number - average number of individuals direction infected by an infectious case in a totally susceptible population
what is R?
the effective reproduction rate - the average number of secondary infections produced by an infective agent
what does R=1 mean?
the disease is endemic and therefore this is the epidemic threshold
why is R usually smaller than R0?
because there is usually <100% susceptibility in a population and we have control measures
how do we calculate the effective reproduction rate (R)?
R= R0 x susceptible population
what is the ‘susceptible population’?
any person not immune, never encountered the infection, unable to mount an immune response and cannot get the vaccine i.e. its contraindicated
how do you work out the herd immunity threshold?
1- susceptible population
what was the expanded programme on immunisation?
established in 1974 to develop and expand immunization programs throughout the world. In 1977, the goal was set to make immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles and tuberculosis available to every child in the world by 1990.