Factors that affect the spread of epidemics

Discussion 2 – Concepts of Infectious Disease

Topic/Instructions

Read Chapter 2 first. Then come to this discussion.

I have set the discussion up around the general topic of Concepts of infectious disease. Since the chapter in the textbook is so full of important concepts, it would be difficult to narrow it down to a single topic for discussion. So I have posted this introduction and 5 separate subtopics.

Each student should choose one of these subtopics for your major post.

Take an active role in presenting this topic to the other students.

Explain the concept in your own words, or develop it further using a relevant example. You should then read the comments of other students in the other subtopics, and respond to at least one in every subtopic that has a primary comment in it. That allows you to develop one subtopic in an active sense, but learn about the others by being drawn into them through other people’s posts.

You should write well thought out primary comments on at least one of the points below (150-200 words). Then, you should make well thought-out comments to your classmates’ comments, at least one in every subtopic that is being developed.

Subtopic 1: Factors that affect the spread of epidemics – Part 1

Question: Explain the following statement:

Epidemiology is the Study of the relationship between an infectious agent and its host population

A balanced host/parasite relationship must exist:

The virus can deplete host, but if virus completely eliminates the host, it will become extinct.

Subtopic 2: Factors that affect the spread of epidemics – Part 2

Question: Explain how the interaction between these factors are relevant to the transmission of AIDS. For example, which of these factors are most critical to the transmission of HIV. Which aren’t.

1. Total number of hosts

2. Host’s birth rate

3. Rate at which new susceptible hosts migrate into population

4. Number of susceptible uninfected hosts

5. Rate at which disease can be transmitted from infected to uninfected hosts

6. Death rate of infected hosts

7. The number of infected hosts who survive and become immune or resistant to further infection

Subtopic 3: Acute versus Chronic Infections