Risk Factors

for
Common
Chronic
Diseases
According to the World Health Report
2010, the major risk factors include:
1. tobacco use.
2 .the harmful use of alcohol.
3. raised blood pressure (or hypertension)
4. physical inactivity.
5. raised cholesterol.
6. overweight/obesity.
7. unhealthy diet.
8. raised blood glucose.
Agents of
Infectious
Disease
 An object is designed as the
Source of source of infection, is one in
infection: which the agent of infection
lives and propagates. Can
be man or animal from
which the infectious agent is
secreted into the outer
environment and from there
to individuals.
Means of In medicine, public health,
transmission and biology, transmission is the
passing of a pathogen
causing communicable
disease from an infected host
individual or group to a
particular individual or group,
regardless of whether the
other individual was previously
infected.
Means of transmission

Transmission can also be indirect, via another organism,

either a vector (e.g. a mosquito or fly) or an
intermediate host (e.g. tapeworm in pigs can be
transmitted to humans who ingest improperly cooked
pork). Indirect transmission could involve zoonoses or,
more typically, larger pathogens like macro parasites
with more complex life cycles. Transmissions can be
autochthonous (i.e. between two individuals in the
same place) or may involve travel of the microorganism
or the affected hosts.
The term strictly refers to the transmission of
microorganisms directly from one individual to
another by one or more of the following means:
1. fecal-oral transmission usually from unwashed hands, contaminated
food or water sources due to lack of sanitation and hygiene, an important
transmission route in pediatrics, veterinary medicine and developing
countries.

2. droplet contact coughing or sneezing on another individual

3. direct physical contact touching an infected individual, including sexual contact

4. indirect physical contact usually by touching a contaminated surface,

including soil (fomite)

5. airborne transmission if the microorganism can remain in the air for long
periods
Measures of disease outbreaks

Disease occurrence. The measures to be used

depend on the study design, but also on what
we want to measure. ... In cohort studies
performed during an outbreak investigation,
attack rates are often calculated to have a
measure of the proportion of people who
experience the outcome of the study.
Epidemiologists are famous for
their use of rates. Each measure
serves to characterize the
disease giving valuable
information about
contagiousness, incubation
period, duration, and mortality of
the disease.
What is an outbreak in epidemiology?

In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in

occurrences of a disease in a particular time and
place. It may affect a small and localized group or
impact upon thousands of people across an entire
continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious disease
may be sufficient to constitute an outbreak.
How does an epidemic occurs?
An epidemic occurs when an infectious disease spreads
rapidly to many people. For example, in 2003, the
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic
took the lives of nearly 800 people worldwide. A
pandemic is a global disease outbreak.
Epidemiologic methods
Investigation of epidemics

An outbreak ( or short term epidemic is a series

of events clustered in time and in space. The
events usually are new cases of disease
occurring at a higher frequency rate than what
is normally expected. Outbreak investigation is
a systematic procedure to identify causes and
sources of epidemics.
Investigation of epidemics