BIO 550 Describe or illustrate the modes of transmission of communicable disease in a population

DQ1 Describe or illustrate the modes of transmission of communicable disease in a population. What knowledge should you take away from this information?

DQ2 Are host, agent, and environment equally important in the natural history of disease, or is one feature more critical than the others? Justify your reasoning.

By contrast, the numbers affected by some communicable diseases can undergo a sudden increase over a few days or weeks, or the rise may continue for months or years. When a communicable disease affects a community in this way, it is referred to as an epidemic. Malaria is endemic in some areas of Ethiopia, and it also occurs as epidemics due to an increase in the number of cases suddenly at the beginning or end of the wet season.

1.1.3 Prevention and control measures

The health problems due to communicable diseases can be tackled by the application of relatively easy measures at different levels of the health system. Here, we will use some examples at the individual and community levels, which are relevant to your work as a Health Extension Practitioner.

Some measures can be applied before the occurrence of a communicable disease to protect a community from getting it, and to reduce the number of cases locally in the future. These are called prevention measures. For example, vaccination of children with the measles vaccine is a prevention measure, because the vaccine will protect children from getting measles. Vaccination refers to administration of vaccines to increase resistance of a person against infectious diseases.

Once a communicable disease occurs and is identified in an individual, measures can be applied to reduce the severity of the disease in that person, and to prevent transmission of the infectious agent to other members of the community. These are called control measures. For example, once a child becomes infected with measles, treatment helps reduce the severity of the disease, and possibly prevents the child’s death, but at the same time it decreases the risk of transmission to other children in the community. In this context, treatment of measles is considered a control measure.

Later in this Module, you will learn that the widespread use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) is recommended as a prevention measure for malaria, which is transmitted to people by mosquitoes. If you promote the effective use of mosquito nets in your community, how would you expect the number of malaria cases to change over time?
Reveal answer

Next we look at the main ways in which infectious agents are transmitted.

1.2 Factors involved in the transmission of communicable diseases

Transmission is a process in which several events happen one after the other in the form of a chain. Hence, this process is known as a chain of transmission (Figure 1.1). Six major factors can be identified: the infectious agent, the reservoir, the route of exit, the mode of transmission, the route of entry and the susceptible host. We will now consider each of these factors in turn. BIO 550 Describe or illustrate the modes of transmission of communicable disease in a population

Scientific names

Tables 1.1 and 1.2 referred to Plasmodium falciparum as an infectious agent causing malaria. This is an example of how infectious agents are named scientifically, using a combination of two words, the ‘genus’ and the ‘species’ names. The genus name is written with its initial letter capitalised, followed by the species name which is not capitalised. In the example above, Plasmodium is the genus name and falciparum refers to one of the species of this genus found in Ethiopia. There are other species in this genus, which also cause malaria, e.g. Plasmodium vivax.

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	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Main Posting	45 (45%) – 50 (50%) Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. Supported by at least three current, credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to some of the discussion question(s). One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Post is cited with two credible sources. Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	0 (0%) – 34 (34%) Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately. Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible sources. Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness	10 (10%) – 10 (10%) Posts main post by day 3.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not post by day 3.
First Response	17 (17%) – 18 (18%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	15 (15%) – 16 (16%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	13 (13%) – 14 (14%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 12 (12%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response	16 (16%) – 17 (17%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	14 (14%) – 15 (15%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	12 (12%) – 13 (13%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 11 (11%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Participation	5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100