Basic terms of Community Medicine

Infection:

The process of entry of microorganisms into human followed by their multiplication and development within the human body is called infection.

Example: colonization of staphylococcus aureus in the nasopharynx and skin.

Infestation:

It is the state of having parasite in or on the body which includes arthropods or animal parasites.

For person or animal the lodgment, development and reproduction of some organisms on the surface of the body or on the clothes

Host:

The lodgment to an infectious agent under natural conditions is called host. The place in which the parasite attains maturity and passes sexual stages is called primary host or definitive host.

Contagious disease:

A disease that is transmitted through contact is called contagious disease.

Example: Scabies, STD, leprosy etc

Communicable disease:

Any illness due to specific infectious agent or its toxic products capable of being directly or indirectly transmitted from man to man, animal to animal or from the environment to man or animal is called communicable disease.

Epidemic:

Any disease, injury or health related events occurring suddenly in members clearly in excess of normal expectancy. It is increased level of diseases in a specific area and population is called as epidemic.

Endemic:

The constant presence of a disease or infectious agent within a given geographic area or population group is called endemic. It is the number of constant disease people in the specific area.

Pandemic:

An epidemic usually affecting a large proportion of the population and occurring over a wide geographic area such as a section of nation, the entire nation, a continent or the world is called pandemic. In short the disease in the vast geographic area is termed as pandemic.

Sporadic:

The cases occur irregularly, haphazardly time to time to time and generally infrequently, showing a little or no connection with each other, nor a recognizable common source of infection. The disease in the scattered area of the country is called sporadic e.g. polio, tetanus etc

Exotic:

Diseases which are imported to the country are called exotic. These are diseases which are not present in that area but came from outside e.g. Rabies in UK

Zoonosis:

An infection or infectious disease transmissible under natural conditions from vertebrate animals to man is called zoonosis e.g. rabies, anthrax, brucellosis etc

 Epizoonosis (epizootic):

An outbreak (epidemic) of disease in animal population is called epizootic e.g. influenza etc

Epornthetic:

Outbreak of disease in birds is called Epornthetic e.g. bird flu

Nosocomial infection:

It is hospital acquired infection originating in a patient while in a hospital denoting a new disorder is called nosocomial infection e.g. scabies, surgical wounds, hepatitis B, UTI etc

Opportunistic infection:

This is infection by an organism that takes the opportunity provided by low resistance or immunity to infect the and hence cause disease e.g. AIDS by HIV

Iatrogenic disease:

These diseases are caused by the negligence of physicians or other health professionals.