Infectious Disease Concepts

Competency 3: Define terms and concepts associated with infectious disease

1. Define concepts commonly used in infectious disease epidemiology
   1. Define and discuss the significance of the following concepts: incubation period, virulence, reservoir, period of communicability, prodromal period, infective dose, diagnosis, disease course, treatment [if any], susceptible populations, vectors
   2. Describe several ways epidemiologists classify infectious disease agents (i.e., by type of agent, by incubation period, by locality of occurrence, by severity of illness, by mode of transmission, by duration [acute vs. chronic], by vector)
   3. Describe the relationship between agent, host and environment and the significance of this relationship to infectious disease epidemiology
2. Describe classifications and characteristics of infectious disease agents
   1. List and compare characteristics of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, rickettsiae, prions, etc.
   2. List diseases associated with each type of organism
   3. List the agent characteristics that influence human acquisition of infections (i.e., ability to live outside a host; ability to survive in unfavorable environments; ability to shift its antigenicity; ability to induce or not induce immune response)
3. Describe characteristics of disease hosts relevant to infectious disease acquisition
   1. List the host characteristics that influence susceptibility to infectious diseases (i.e., age, sex, behavior, social environment, immunity, history of travel, occupation)
4. Describe the role of the environment in infectious disease acquisition
   1. List the environmental conditions that influence infectious disease occurrence (i.e., temperature, humidity, water quality, geography, locality)
5. Describe the role of vaccination in infectious disease prevention
   1. Define and contrast natural and acquired immunity
   2. List available vaccines for various infectious diseases and define target audience for vaccination
   3. Describe and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of vaccines and vaccination programs