MCC-UE 1040 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4-6: Bioterrorism, Insomnia, Cooling Tower

• School: New York University
• Department: Media, Culture & Communication
• Course: MCC-UE 1040
• Professor: phoungthao Le

Document Summary

Chapter 4: epidemiology: the basic science of public health. Used to investigate causes of diseases, to identify trends in disease occurrence that may influence the need for medical & public health services, & to evaluate the effectiveness of medical & public health interventions. Studies patterns of disease occurrence in disease populations & the factors that influence these patterns. Epidemic: increase in the frequency of a disease above the usual & expected rate (endemic rate) Goal is to control & prevent the spread of disease. Gov"t collection of data on births, deaths, & other vital statistics is important to epidemiological studies. Epidemiologic surveillance: requires that certain notifiable diseases be reported as soon as they are diagnosed. Usually infectious diseases whose spread can be prevented. 60 such diseases in the us, ex. tuberculosis, hepatitis, measles, & syphilis. May be requirements for birth defects, cancer, & other noninfectious. Allows public health authorities to detect an emerging epidemic at an early stage.