communicable disease

• Communicable Disease


  An illness due to a specific infectious agent or its toxic product transmitted directly or indirectly
• Infectious Disease


  Disease of man or animal resulting from infection
• Contagious Disease


  An illness which arises only through the direct transmission of the infectious agent from a reservoir to a susceptible host and is easily transmitted
• Carrier


  Persons who without symptoms of a communicable disease harbors the specific agent and may serve as source of infection
• Contact


  Person/ animals known to have been in close association with an infected person or animal as to have been presumably exposed to infection
• Contamination


  Contamination of a surface, article or substance means the presence of pathogenic agents on or in it
• Isolation


  Separation for the period of communicability of infected persons from other person to prevent the direct or indirect conveyance of the infectious agent to susceptible others
• Reservoir


  Where infectious agents lives and multiplies and depends for survival
• Vector


  Arthropodes or other invertebrates
• Vehicle of transmission


  Matter in or upon which pathogenic agents are present and survive until there is physical contact with persons
• Infection


  Successful entry and multiplication of an infectious agent into a living body
• Suspect


  A person whose medical history suggest to have developed such infection
• Patient


  Person who shows signs and symptoms of the disease
• Incubation period


  The time elapsing between the introduction of the causative agent in the body and first appearance of signs and symptoms
• Prodromal period


  The interval elapsing between the earliest appearance of signs and symptoms and the occurrence of fever or rash
• Essential Elements in Communicable Disease

  • Agent
  • Host
  • Environment
• Agent


  Microorganism that is living and capable of invading and multiplying in the body of the host
• Types of Host


  • Infected body
  • Susceptible body
• Environment


  Encompasses the ways and means of transmission of the infectious agents from the infected body to the susceptible body
• Types of Environment


  • Indirect
  • Direct
• Communicable Diseases of the Nervous System

  • Tetanus
  • Meningitis
  • Encephalitis
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Rabies
  • Leprosy
• Tetanus

  Acute infection associated with painful muscular spasm
• Tetanus Management

  1. Supportive therapy

  2. Wound care

  3. Immunization

  4. Medication
• Organism (Tetanus)

  Clostridium tetani
• Reservoir (Tetanus)

  Soil and human feces
• Transmission (Tetanus)

  Endospores introduced through wounds
• Incubation Period (Tetanus)

  1. 10 days
• Signs/Symptoms (Tetanus)

  Muscle spasm, Trismus, risus sardonicus, respiratory muscle spasm
• Diagnosis (Tetanus)

  History and Physical exam, can do gram stain and culture
• Immunization (Tetanus)

  DPT in EPI, Tetanus Toxoid
• Medication (Tetanus)

  Antibiotics- Penicillin (DOC)
• Meningitis

  Acute inflammation of the meninges
• Organism (Meningitis)

  Neisseria meningitidis (meningoccocus)
• Reservoir (Meningitis)

  Nasopharynx of humans only
• Transmission (Meningitis)

  Respiratory droplet transmission
• Incubation period (Meningitis)

  2 to 10 days
• Signs/Symptoms (Meningitis)

  Meningitis-fever, stiff neck, vomiting, lethargy, petechial rash

  Meningococcemia- fever, petechial rash, hypotension
• Diagnosis (Meningitis)

  Lumbar puncture- gram stain and culture
• Meningitis Management

  1. Medication

  2. Prophylaxis
• Organisms Causing Meningitis

  • Haemophilus influenzae (Infants)

  Neiserria meningitidis (Adolescents and young adult)

  Sreptococcus pneumoniea (Older adults)

  Listeria monocytogenes (Immunosupressed and elderly)