Vocab Words: 11/30/09

Incidence: Number of new cases of sidease/total number of people in population

Prevalence: Total number of cases of disease/total number of people in population

Epidemic: INcrease in incidence of disease

Reservoir: Where microbe (that —> disease) exists in nature, usually.
ex) HIV reservoir= humans
C. perfringens = soil
V. fischeri = squid, seawater
over time, most microbes become less virulent in reservoir

Vector: Organism that transmits infectious disease from hots to host
ex) y. pestis' (plague) vector = flea

Virulent: Microbe that causes symptoms
Virulence: ability to cause symptoms
Virulence factor: Any chemical made by a pathogenic microbe that contributes to that microbe's ability to cause symptoms.
Kassie Hein