- antigenic drift
- when viruses undergo minor mutations each year, such as the influenza A viruses
- antigenic shift
- when viruses undergo a major mutation; has occurred with flu viruses four times over the past 100 years
- case definition
- a set of criteria used to define a disease for the purpose of public health surveillance
- case surveillance
- when public health agencies collect information about an individual diagnosed with a health condition that could potentially pose a health threat to others
- emerging infectious diseases (EIDs)
- diseases that are newly affecting populations or diseases that have existed previously but only caused isolated disease that are now increasing in incidence and geographic range
- erythema migrans (EM)
- also known as the “bull’s eye” rash of Lyme disease; is erythematous, annular, and homogenous at the site of the actual tick bite and expands over several days to sizes greater than 5 centimeters in diameter with a central clearing as the rash expands
- infectious
- easily transmitted between individuals
- infectious disease
- disease caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi; enters a human host, multiplies, and causes infection that can spread to others
- microcephaly
- condition where a baby’s head is smaller than expected, impacting brain development
- nationally notifiable condition
- a disease required by law to be reported to government authorities, allowing for case surveillance to assess transmission patterns and determine interventions to control outbreaks
- pandemic
- an epidemic that spreads worldwide
- pathogenicity
- the potential ability to cause disease; the more pathogenic an agent is, the greater the ability it has to cause disease in a susceptible host
- public health surveillance
- the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data essential to planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice
- vectors
- living organisms, such as ticks and mosquitoes, that can transmit infectious pathogens to humans