HSCI 212 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Virus, Virulence, Vaccine
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
HSCI 212
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Course Intro: Learning Objectives
1. Describe the general role of the causal model in disease transmission.
- Diseases are spread and manifested through a complex interplay; status of one may affect another
and determine whether a disease spreads or not. If maintained in a state of equilibrium, a state of
health within the human host is maintained. If disequilibrium, disease may result.
o Increased agent results from environmental conditions (eg. raw chicken)
o Host becomes more susceptible (eg. stress & changes in immune function)
2. List five disciplines and their roles in fighting infectious diseases and their contributions.
3. Broadly describe the events and interdisciplinary actions that led to the resolution of the SARS outbreak
in 2003.
4. Describe the agent that causes SARS.
Study Questions
1. Explain the difference between a disease and an infectious disease.
Disease: disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant especially one that produces
specific symptoms, or affects a specific location and isn’t simply a direct result of physical injury
Infectious disease: caused by a pathogenic microorganism such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi;
can be spread directly/indirectly, from one person to another.
2. Define Host, Agent, and Environment and describe how they impact each other with respect to
infectious disease transmission.
Host: individual human in whom the agent produces disease; intrinsic traits influence the risk of
exposure, susceptibility once exposed, and the responses to casual factors
Agent: factor whose presence or absence can cause disease; necessary for disease to occur *microbes*;
infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, immunogenicity
Environment: refers to all external conditions and influences affecting the life of living things; physical,
biologic, social environments that contribute to the disease process; phenomena that bring host and
agent close together; weather, housing, geography, occupational setting, structural environments, social
environments
3. Select an infectious agent (eg. malaria, influenza). Name the host, vector, and agent. Suggest a couple of
environmental factors that could affect transmission.
Malaria: humans, mosquitos, parasites of the plasmodium spp.
If the physical environment changes, the availability of vectors could be affected thereby influencing the
efficiency of transmission of the disease.
4. What are two diseases that could be impacted by climate change (video)?
5. How do socioeconomic conditions affect spread of cholera (video)?
Access to safe drinking water; if water is not safe, then those who come in contact with it, will access to
safe drinking water; if water is not safe, then those who come in contact with it, will be exposed to the
bacteria.
6. How might climate change impact mosquito borne diseases (video)?
If warmer, there will be longer springs and falls; the timing of when the disease can occur is lengthened.
Agents: mosquitos.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
7. Write a paragraph that summarizes the chronological events that occurred during the outbreak of SARS.
- Nov 16, 2002: first known case of SARS in Foshan of Guangdong Province, China
- Jan 23, 2002: Guangdong Health Bureau sends official document of atypical pneumonia to
provincial health bureaus and medical institutions
- Jan 30, 2002: Seafood seller in Guangzhou infects more than 50 hospital staff members and 19
relatives, the first known “super-spreading event.”
- Feb 10, 2002: WHO’s Beijing office receives e-mail warning of a “strange contagious disease” in
Guangdong.
- Feb 11, 2002: Guangdong officials report 305 cases and five deaths of acute respiratory syndrome
between Nov 16 and Feb 9.
- Feb 14, 2002: The Chinese Ministry of Health informs WHO that the Guangdong outbreak is under
control
- Feb 21, 2002: A Guangdong physician falls ill in HK’s Metropole Hotel. Other guests carry SARS to
Hanoi, Singapore, and Toronto
- Feb 26, 2002: A Chinese-American businessman from New York who stayed at the Metropole Hotel
is admitted to the French Hospital in Hanoi
- Mar 3, 2002: Carlo Urbani examines the Hanoi case and notifies WHO’s regional office in Manila of
unusual disease
- Mar 7, 2002: Health care workers at HK Prince of Wales Hospital start falling ill
- Mar 15, 2002: In second alert, WHO names disease SARS, calls it “a worldwide health threat” and
issues travel advisories.
- Mar 17, 2002: WHO sets up network of 11 labs to hunt for the agent causing SARS. Networks for
clinicians and epidemiologists will follow.
- Mar 24, 2002: Scientists in the lab network finger new coronavirus.
8. How might an epidemiologist, public health official, immunologist, or medical doctor contribute to the
fight against infectious disease?
a. Can you think of any other disciplines that might be involved in fighting infectious diseases?
b. What contributions did these different disciplines make during the SARS outbreak?
9. Why is the example of SARS still relevant 11 years after the fact?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Course intro: learning objectives: describe the general role of the causal model in disease transmission. Diseases are spread and manifested through a complex interplay; status of one may affect another and determine whether a disease spreads or not. If maintained in a state of equilibrium, a state of health within the human host is maintained. Study questions: explain the difference between a disease and an infectious disease. Disease: disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant especially one that produces specific symptoms, or affects a specific location and isn"t simply a direct result of physical injury. Host: individual human in whom the agent produces disease; intrinsic traits influence the risk of exposure, susceptibility once exposed, and the responses to casual factors. Agent: factor whose presence or absence can cause disease; necessary for disease to occur *microbes*; infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, immunogenicity. Suggest a couple of environmental factors that could affect transmission.
