COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

A. BASIC CONCEPTS: COMMUNICABLE DISEASES an illness due to an infection agent or its toxic products which is transmitted directly or indirectly to a well person or animal or thru an agency of an intermediate of an animal host, vector of the inanimate environment. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTAGIOUS AND INFECTION DISEASE

I.

CONTAGIOUS DISEASE easily spread directly from persons to person; all contagious diseases are infectious INFECTIOUS DISEASES applied to diseases not transmitted by ordinary contact, but require a direct inoculation of a break in the previously intact skin or mucus membrane FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRASMISSION OF INFECTION

1. CAUSATIVE OR ETIOLOGIC AGENT - mode of action of infectious agent 2. RESERVOIRS OF INFECTION- living bodies that harbor, sustain and maintain the growth and maintain the growth and multiplication of infectious agent TWO TYPES OF RESERVOIRS: A.HUMAN RESERVOIR - main reservoirs of infection; Infected persons from whom the infectious agent if transmitted to other person. FRANK OR TYPICAL persons who are obviously ill and manifest typical signs and symptoms SUBCLINICAL infected persons where the disease is so mild that signs and symptoms are inapparent; referred to as missed or abortive, ambulatory / walking cases. CARRIERS infected persons who do not manifest any recognizable signs and symptoms (strictly speaking no disease but the most dangerous) CONTACT close association SUSPECT medical history reveals that he has the disease B. ANIMAL RESERVOIR

3. MODE OF TRANSMISSIONS:

A. BY CONTACT TRANSMISSION direct contact ( person to person ) indirect contact ( usually thru an inanimate object ) droplet contact ( from coughing, sneezing or talking ) B. BY VEHICLE ROUTE ( thru contaminated items ) food salmonellosis ( poisoning ) water shigellosis drugs bacteremia resulting from infusion of a contaminated product blood hepatitis B C. AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION droplet nuclei residue of evaporated droplets that remain suspended in the air dust particle containing the infectious agent organism shed into skin thru environment D. VECTOR BORNE TRANSMISSION -via contaminated or infected arthropods such as flies, ticks and others. E. VERTICAL TRANSMISSION from the mother to the neonate (AIDS,HEPA B and C, malaria,syphilis)

4. MODE OF ENTRY/PORTAL OF EXIT RESPIRATORY TRACT most common GI TRACT easiest way thru indirect contamination GENITOURNARY DIRECT INFECTION OF SKIN / MUCUS MEMBRANE PERCUTANEOUS INFECTION infections, bites and stings 5. SUSCEPTIBLE HOST humans or animals that dont have resistance to infection.

FACTORS AFFECTING ENTRANCE OF INFECTION TO THE BODY:

1. Age, sex, genetic constitution 2. Nutritional status, fitness, environmental factors 3. Absent or abnormal immumoglobulins IMMUNOGLOBULIN (lg) related proteins that act as antibodies 4. General physical, mental and emotional health 5. Status of hematopoitic system, efficacy of reticuloendothelial system EFFICACY OF RETICULOENDOTHELIAL SYSTEM (RES) concerned with defense against microbial infections 6. Presence of underlying disease (DM, leukemia) 7. Patients treated with radiation, chemotherapy, corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive agents II. PATTERNS OF OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION SPORADIC intermittent occurrence of a few isolated and unrelated cases in a given locality - disease occasionally present here and there. High immune and low susceptibility ( e.g rabies ) 2. ENDEMIC continuous occurrence thru out a period of time of the usual number of cases in a given locality Low immune and low susceptibility ( e.g. malaria, schistosomiasis ) 3. EPIDEMIC occurrence of an unusually large number of cases in a relatively short period of time Low immune and high susceptibility (e.g AIDS ) 4. PANDEMIC simultaneous occurrence of epidemics of the same disease in several countries - Worldwide epidemic Low immune and high susceptibility ( e.g. AIDS ) 1. * HERD IMMUNITY state of immunity of the community III. PRINCIPLES PHILOSOPHY OF IMMUNIZATION IMMUNIZATION - the prevention of communicable diseases thru the utilization of specific immunizing agents, by the use of which the body protects itself against infections and diseases RESISTANCE / IMMUNITY the boys ability to withstand infection, but it does not absolutely mean that one who possesses it is free from disease TYPES OF IMMUNITY 1. NATURAL IMMUNITY inborn protection. a. RACIAL inherent to a certain race (e.g blocks against yellow fever) b. HEREDITARY thru genes c. CONGENITAL resistance of the body in the uterus thru placenta (e.g. measles) d. INDIVIDUAL to distinct person (e.g body built)

2. ACQUIRED IMMUNITY - after birth.

a. b. ACTIVE antibodies are manufactured by the tissues of the body PASSIVE antibodies are already formed and introduced into the body

* TYPES OF ACTIVE IMMUNITY a. NATURAL ACTIVE ACQUIRED initiated by the production of the antibodies following a clinical attack infection. b. ARTIFICIAL ACTIVE ACQUIRED acquired by the production of the antibodies which is artificial (e.g vaccination) *TYPES OF PASSIVE IMMUNITY a. NATURAL PASSIVE ACQUIRED antibodies produced by a natural process (e.g colostrums, maternal antibodies ) b. ARTIFICIAL PASSIVE ACQUIRED man develops antibodies (e.g. serum, Ig) breastfeeding,