Terminologies
1. Incubation period
The time taken to show the first clinical symptoms to appear after infection.
2. Vector
Any living carrier that carries and transfers an infectious agent into another living organism is known as vector. E.g: Flies, Mosquito.
3. Isolation
Separation of an infected organism, after the development of infection, from other organism, for a period of communicability.
4. Host
A person or an animal harbours the infectious agent.
Definitive Host –
Host in which the parasite achieves the sexual maturity
Intermediate Host –
The host develops the parasite. But does not attains sexual maturity
5. Infectious
A communicable disease which is caused by an infection.
6. Infection
Is the invasion and multiplication of disease-causing agents, which leads the tissue damage.
7. Infectious agent
All infection causing agents are known as infectious agents. E.g : Virus, Bacteria, Nematodes, Arthropods etc.
8. Transmission
It is the process of spreading the infection from one medium to another medium. E.g: Touch, inhalation, sexual contact, infected discharges.
9. Contagious disease
It means capable of being transmitted from one human to another human via direct or indirect contact. E.g : Measles
10. Epidemiology
It is the study of distribution and determination of disease conditions among the populations.
