14: Disease and Epidemiology (Part B)
Epidemiology studies how disease originates and spreads throughout a population, with the goal of preventing outbreaks and containing them when they do occur. Over the past two centuries, discoveries in epidemiology have led to public health policies that have transformed life in developed nations, leading to the eradication (or near eradication) of many diseases that were once causes of great human suffering and premature death. However, the work of epidemiologists is far from finished. Numerous diseases continue to plague humanity, and new diseases are always emerging. Moreover, in the developing world, lack of infrastructure continues to pose many challenges to efforts to contain disease.
Chapter Outline
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- 14.1: The Language of Epidemiologists
- The field of epidemiology concerns the geographical distribution and timing of infectious disease occurrences and how they are transmitted and maintained in nature, with the goal of recognizing and controlling outbreaks. The science of epidemiology includes etiology (the study of the causes of disease) and investigation of disease transmission (mechanisms by which a disease is spread).
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- 14.2: How Diseases Spread
- Pathogens often have elaborate adaptations to exploit host biology, behavior, and ecology to live in and move between hosts. Hosts have evolved defenses against pathogens, but because their rates of evolution are typically slower than their pathogens (because their generation times are longer), hosts are usually at an evolutionary disadvantage. This section will explore where pathogens survive—both inside and outside hosts—and some of the many ways they move from one host to another.
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- 14.3: Global Public Health
- A large number of international programs and agencies are involved in efforts to promote global public health. Among their goals are developing infrastructure in health care, public sanitation, and public health capacity; monitoring infectious disease occurrences around the world; coordinating communications between national public health agencies in various countries; and coordinating international responses to major health crises.