30 Oct Choose one infectious disease from the list below and use the chain of infection to analyze how it is spread.? List of Infectious Diseases to choose from: AIDS, rabies, cholera, mala

PH 111 Course Name: Introduction to Public Health I CHAPTER 9 THE “CONQUEST” OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, students in PH 111 course should be able to:

• Identify the major infectious diseases killers of the past

· • Describe infectious agents

· • Describe the chain of infection

· • Describe the means of transmission

· • Describe how to interrupt the chain of infection

· • Describe Public Health measures aimed at controlling infections

The above will be demonstrated by completing and submitting the assignments and by participating in the discussion(s) assigned to this chapter.

MAJOR THEMES

1. Until the early twentieth century, infectious diseases were the major killers of humans.

2. Through the efforts of public health and medicine, the threat of infectious diseases seemed to have been virtually eliminated by the mid-twentieth century, although the achievement was less complete than it appeared.

3. Biomedical scientists achieved their victory by learning a great deal about the causes of infectious diseases, how they act on the body, and how they are spread, and by identifying specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause specific diseases.

4. Control of an infectious disease is accomplished by interrupting the chain of infection.

5. Rabies is an example of a disease caused by a virus that has been very well controlled in the United States through public health measures including surveillance and mandatory vaccination of dogs.

6. Smallpox, measles, and polio are caused by viruses that can only infect humans; thus, they can be eradicated through universal immunization. Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. Polio has been eradicated in the United States and is close to being eradicated in the rest of the world. Progress in the eradication of polio has been slowed because of opposition in some Asian and African countries by Muslim politicians who have claimed that the vaccine has been deliberately contaminated.

7. In the United States, some parents refuse to vaccinate their children because of fears of side effects of the vaccines. In communities where many children are not vaccinated, the lack of herd immunity causes everyone to be more susceptible to preventable infectious diseases

IMPORTANT TERMS

Bacteria

viruses

parasites

aerosol

fecal-oral route

immunization

pathogen

reservoir

host

herd immunity

FURTHER READINGS AND WEB SITES

1. National Center for Infectious Diseases web site: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/index.htm (Can click on various divisions and programs, for example, the Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. Within each division, can click on specific diseases for more information)

2. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases web site: www.niaid.nih.gov (Can click on various research divisions, including Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

3. National Immunization Program web site: www.cdc.gov/nip/ Information on vaccine safety