What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
How Infection Works
Types of Microbes
The microorganisms, or microbes, that can cause disease come in different forms. Viruses and bacteria are probably the most familiar because we hear so much about them. But fungi, protozoa, and helminths are also big players in the story of infectious disease. Learn more about each of these five main categories, as well as a recently discovered one: prions.
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What do you know about infectious disease?
Public health officials can identify the outbreak of disease by monitoring certain patterns of behavior through syndromic surveillance. Which of the following is one of the signs used to identify a disease outbreak using this system?
- Level of school and work absenteeism
- Sales of over-the-counter medication
- Number of illness-related 911 calls
- All of the above
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections.
-
Correct!
In syndromic surveillance, all of the above are used in addition to other patterns that suggest an outbreak. Despite the emergence of this innovative surveillance method, most surveillance still depends on tracking reported infections.
Infectious Disease Defined
- Toxin
A poisonous substance, often a protein, produced by the metabolic processes of living cells or organisms that can cause disease if introduced into the body.
National Academies
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- Fungal Diseases: An Emerging Threat to Human, Animal, and Plant Health— Workshop Summary (2011)
- Infectious Disease Movement in a Borderless World—Workshop Summary (2010)
- Microbial Evolution and Co-Adaptation: A Tribute to the Life and Scientific Legacies of Joshua Lederberg (2009)
- The New Science of Metagenomics: Revealing the Secrets of Our Microbial Planet (2007)
- Ending the War Metaphor: The Changing Agenda for Unraveling the Host-Microbe Relationship—Workshop Summary (2006)
- Microbial Threats to Health: Emergence, Detection, and Response (2003)
