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VRSA
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Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has become resistant to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin
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Polio
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Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) is an acute viral infectious disease of humans spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route
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Morbidity
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the state of being diseased
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Vaccination
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Administering weakened or dead pathogens to a healthy person or animal, with the intent of conferring immunity against a targeted form of a related disease agent.
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Spill-back
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the transmission of infectious agents from wildlife populations back to domestic populations
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Spill-over
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the transmission of infectious agents from reservoir domestic populations to wildlife populations
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Immunocompromised
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individuals whose immune system is weakened by any number of factors including disease (ex. AIDS), disease treatment (ex. chemotherapy or immune suppressant drugs given to transplant patients) or stress or immaturity (newborns are highly susceptible to many diseases)
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Phylogeny
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evolutionary history of a taxonomic group; hypothetical common ancestor; constructed using genetic info
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Ecology
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study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms
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Buboe
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Infected lymph nodes associated with the bubonic plague.
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John Snow
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England; "father of epidemiology", mapped cholera cases of London (got infected water pump turned off on Broad Street), studied infection control and epidemiology
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Preventing Influenza Deaths
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Antibiotics; ventilators & steroid drugs; prevent heart attack deaths; antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu
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Superspreader
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Individuals who are responsible for a high proportion of the infections within a population
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Iatrogenic
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Disease (often infection) caused as a result of medical procedures such as surgery, catheterization
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Germ Theory
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theory that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases. Highly controversial when first proposed. cf miasma theory
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Asymptomatic
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individuals who are infected by a disease but do not show any of the typical symptoms
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Coinfection
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Simultaneous infection with 2 or more different diseases. In virology the term is used to describe the simultaneous infection of a single cell by 2 or more virus particles
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Louis Pasteur
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French chemist and biologist whose discovery that fermentation is caused by microorganisms resulted in the process of pasteurization; one of 3 main founders of microbiology
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Resistance
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(medicine) the condition in which an organism can resist disease
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Plasmid
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DNA separate from the chromosomal DNA and capable of independent replication. Found naturally in many bacteria, it is typically circular and double-stranded.
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Robert Koch
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A German physician who made discoveries that reinforced those of Pasteur; founder of microbiology; In 1882 he isolated the germ that causes tuberculosis. He also identified the germ responsible for Asiatic cholera and developed sanitary measures, such as water filtration, to prevent disease.
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Cyst
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A resting or dormant stage in bacteria.
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Cytokine
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A substance that is produced by cells of the immune system and can affect the immune response
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Neuranubudase
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one of the enzymes found on the surface of the influenza virus. Promotes the release of progeny viruses from infected cells
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Antigen drift
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Natural mutation over time of known strains of influenza; may lead to loss of immunity or vaccine mismatch; The random accumulation of mutations in viral genes recognized by the immune system. Such accumulation may significantly change the antigens of the virus, and may help it evade the immune system.
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Vertical Transmission
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Transmission of an infection, such as HIV, from mother to child during the prenatal period: the period immediately before and after birth
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An ___ is occurring between public health officials and Plasmodium populations...constant search for new drugs
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arms race
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Resevoir
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The long-term host of the pathogen of an infectious disease. The long term host may not get the disease carried by the pathogen or it may be asymptomatic and non-lethal. Examples of natural reservoir include: Field mice for hantaviruses, Raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats for rabies and ducks and geese for avian influenza.
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Herd Immunity
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A type of community protection from disease that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population (or herd) provides protection to unvaccinated individuals by making it less likely that any infected individual will contact a susceptible individual and thus pass on the disease
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Broad Street Outbreak (1854)
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The London Cholera outbreak investigated by John Snow that was the first epidemiological investigation.
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Borrelia burgdorferi
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The bacterial causative agent of Lyme disease.
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Transduction
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The process by which bacterial DNA is moved from one bacterium to another by a virus.
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Gas Gangrene
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A very unpleasant way to die. Deadly bacterial infection caused by Clostridium bacteria that produces gas within tissues. Before invention of antibiotics this was fate for many soldiers in wartime. Amputation was only intervention possible
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Relative Risk
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a ratio of the probability of the event occurring in the exposed group versus non-exposed group
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Sporozoite
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A stage in the life cycle of the Plasmodium parasite, causative agent of malaria. Found in the salivary glands of mosquitos, they are transmitted to humans where they travel in the blood stream to the liver
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___ acts on individuals; ___ acts on populations
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Natural Selection
Evolution
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Third Cholera Pandemic (1852-1860)
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Included outbreaks in London. The Broad Street outbreak investigated by John Snow was particularly deadly
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Index Case
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The index case is the first disease case in an epidemic. Sometimes called 'patient zero'.
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DNA virus
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a virus that has DNA as its genetic material and replicates using a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase
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Emerging Infectious Disease (EID)
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A disease that has been recently discovered, recently increased in incidence, geography, or host range, or is newly evolved
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Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)
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An infectious disease that affects the brain and nervous system in humans. The infectious agent in it is believed to be a specific type of misfolded protein called a prion; thought to be caused by the consumption of beef infected with BSE
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Common Source Epidemic
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Occurs when a group of people is exposed to a single common source of infection. A point source epidemic occurs when a group of people is exposed to a single common source of infection at a single place and time. There is no significant transmission between individuals. Common source infections may be point source, intermittent or continuous. cf propagated and mixed epidemics.
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HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy)
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A treatment to combat AIDS using several different antiretroviral drugs at the same time; total survival increases from 4-12 years; it's not a cure b/c T cells go down when taking these drugs and you're more susceptible to disease
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In biology, an ___ is a heritable that increases the fitness of an individual in a particular environment relative to individuals lacking the trait. ___ increase fitness, the ability to produce offspring
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Adaptation (both answers)
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Plague of Justinian (541-542)
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The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541-542 AD. It has been speculated that this pandemic was caused by Bubonic plague.
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Mutant Swarm (viral swarm)
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a group of viruses of the same species but with slightly different genetic sequences
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Does poor or does better sanitation have a higher result of paralysis from polio?
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Better sanitation b/c few children are exposed to polio, then susceptible later= high % paralyzed
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Selection in favor of new alleles in humans?
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Hemglobin (Hb) is a protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells.
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In 2001 a study on Hb alleles in healthy and Plasmodium-infected people from Burkina Faso reported a relatively high frequency of the HbC allele: Two key observations:
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1) In healthy people, HbC genotypes in HW proportions
2) Among Plasmodium-infected people, observe no HbCC genotypes (homozygotes)
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