What You Need To Know About Infectious Disease
Disease Threats
Our “war” on infectious microbes has restricted the spread of several pathogens and drastically reduced the burden of human disease. But we are a long way from conquering infectious diseases. They account for about one-quarter of deaths worldwide and in 2015 they caused more than half of the estimated 5.9 million deaths in children under the age of 5. What are some of the most significant microbial threats we face?
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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
- World Health Organization (WHO)
The directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system, responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
National Academies
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- Antibiotic Resistance: Implications for Global Health and Novel Intervention Strategies (2010)
- The Domestic and International Impacts of the 2009-H1N1 Influenza A Pandemic: Global Challenges, Global Solutions—Workshop Summary (2010)
- Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration (2010)
- Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases (2009)
- Vector-Borne Diseases: Understanding the Environmental, Human Health, and Ecological Connections—Workshop Summary (2008)
- Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health: Policies, Practices, and Global Coordination—Workshop Summary (2006)
- The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects—Workshop Summary (2004)
