NUR 452 COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔outbreak investigation - ✔✔-Investigation of unusual increase in disease incidence
or an unusual event
-usually directed at a specific person with a new diagnosis to determine who else has
been exposed to prevent larger outbreak
***if a case of pertussis (Whooping cough) is reported, a nurse from the Health
Department may visit that person and find out who else has been exposed, and making
arrangements for those people to obtain prophylactic antibiotics from their primary care
providers
✔✔objectives of outbreak investigation - ✔✔-To control and prevent disease or death
-To ID factors that contribute to the outbreak of the disease or occurrence of the event
-To implement measures to prevent occurrences
✔✔-- - ✔✔
✔✔infectious agents in chain of infection - ✔✔A. Microbes
- Bacterial
- Fungus
- Virus
- Parasites
B. Factors
-Virulence
- Invasiveness
-Pathogenicity
- Infectivity
-Resistance
✔✔virulence - ✔✔Refers to the proportion of people with clinical disease who become
severely ill or die. Highly virulent (stronger) organisms cause greater morbidity and
mortality--most frightening agent!!
,--Produce very severe physical reactions!!
✔✔invasiveness - ✔✔Spread. Ability of an agent to GET INTO a host and spread within
host throughout a tissue
✔✔Pathogenicity - ✔✔Measures the proportion of infected people who develop the
disease. The ability to produce a specific clinical reaction after infection occurs
✔✔infectivity - ✔✔the ability of an agent to enter a susceptible host and multiply to
produce infection or disease.
✔✔resistance - ✔✔ability to resist meds, alteration of genetic structure
✔✔reservoir chain of infection - ✔✔--place to live and multiply
A. Humans - principal reservoir
--Frank cases - obvious, usually not spreading due to precautions
--Subclinical - cases not know yet, walking around, many contacts
--Carriers - no symptoms, circulate freely
--Incubation period - time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and the first
appearance of signs and symptoms of the disease. (2 hrs food poisoning to 15 years
AIDS)
--Communicable period - the itnerval during which and infectious agent may be
transferred directly or indirectly from an infected person to another person (after the
onset of symptoms or before)
--(human is reservoir for syphilis)
B. Animals (Zoonoses)
-- Pets
-- Rodents- Rabies, Plague, Brucellosis
C. Soil & Plants - free living
--Fungi
-- Molds
✔✔portal of exit (escape from reservoir) chain of infection - ✔✔escape routes (no
escape = no spread)
--Respiratory tract - most common and most dangerous. Moisture, droplets, and close
contact.
-- Integumentary - open lesions - Blood Borne Pathogens (BBP)
-- Blood/Serum - needles, transfusion, BBP
-- GI tract - Vomit, feces
-- Sexual route - Sexually Transmitted Diseases/infections (STDs)
✔✔transmission (chain of infection) - ✔✔organism transport from its source to a new
host
A. Vertical Transmission - infection is passed from parent to offspring via sperm,
placenta, milk or vaginal contact at birth
, B. Horizontal
1. Direct - physical contact with infected person, animal or carrier; or touching, skin
contact, membrane to membrane, droplet (short distances), fecal-oral
2. Indirect - organism needs to be able to survive outside the body for short period of
time; OR inanimate objects- nonliving, toys, bedding
3. Common vehicle transmission- Transportation of the infectious agent from an
infected host to a susceptible host via food, water, milk, blood, serum, plasma
4. Vectors - ticks, mosquitos, snails: they transmit infectious agent by biting or
depositing the infective material near the host.
✔✔portal of reentry into new host (chain of infection) - ✔✔A. Respiratory - moisture,
droplets, and close contact
B. Integumentary - open lesions, BBP, parasites - lice, scabies/biting, insects
C. Blood/Serum - escape with needles, dressings, transfusions - BBP
D. GI tract - vomit/feces from another person, food spoilage, water contamination
E. Sexual route - STDs
Same as exit portals usually...
✔✔susceptible new host (chain of infection) - ✔✔Resistance - the ability of the host to
withstand infection - diminished in new hosts
--defense mechanisms diminished
--poor immunity
✔✔Defense mechanisms diminished in susceptible new host - ✔✔--Body properties:
~~tears, skin, mucous, saliva, cilia, immune system, genetic make-up
~~age - ↓resistance = elderly, infants, young children
~~ especially undernourished and chronic illnesses
--Non-specific:
~~diet
~~ lifestyle (stress, sleep, drug use, sex practices, substance use, education)
✔✔breaking the chain of infection - ✔✔--Break the Chain of infection.
--Aim at weakest link.
--Interventions at each level that will "break the chain" and stop the spread of disease
✔✔breaking the chain: infectious agents - ✔✔(anything that destroys the agent)
--Bacteria - antibiotics (bacteriocidal drug), antibacterial gels
-- Pasteurization of milk/juices
--Virus - anti-virals
-- Chlorine/boiling of water
-- Sterilizing/bleach
--Cooking
-- autoclave
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔outbreak investigation - ✔✔-Investigation of unusual increase in disease incidence
or an unusual event
-usually directed at a specific person with a new diagnosis to determine who else has
been exposed to prevent larger outbreak
***if a case of pertussis (Whooping cough) is reported, a nurse from the Health
Department may visit that person and find out who else has been exposed, and making
arrangements for those people to obtain prophylactic antibiotics from their primary care
providers
✔✔objectives of outbreak investigation - ✔✔-To control and prevent disease or death
-To ID factors that contribute to the outbreak of the disease or occurrence of the event
-To implement measures to prevent occurrences
✔✔-- - ✔✔
✔✔infectious agents in chain of infection - ✔✔A. Microbes
- Bacterial
- Fungus
- Virus
- Parasites
B. Factors
-Virulence
- Invasiveness
-Pathogenicity
- Infectivity
-Resistance
✔✔virulence - ✔✔Refers to the proportion of people with clinical disease who become
severely ill or die. Highly virulent (stronger) organisms cause greater morbidity and
mortality--most frightening agent!!
,--Produce very severe physical reactions!!
✔✔invasiveness - ✔✔Spread. Ability of an agent to GET INTO a host and spread within
host throughout a tissue
✔✔Pathogenicity - ✔✔Measures the proportion of infected people who develop the
disease. The ability to produce a specific clinical reaction after infection occurs
✔✔infectivity - ✔✔the ability of an agent to enter a susceptible host and multiply to
produce infection or disease.
✔✔resistance - ✔✔ability to resist meds, alteration of genetic structure
✔✔reservoir chain of infection - ✔✔--place to live and multiply
A. Humans - principal reservoir
--Frank cases - obvious, usually not spreading due to precautions
--Subclinical - cases not know yet, walking around, many contacts
--Carriers - no symptoms, circulate freely
--Incubation period - time interval between invasion by an infectious agent and the first
appearance of signs and symptoms of the disease. (2 hrs food poisoning to 15 years
AIDS)
--Communicable period - the itnerval during which and infectious agent may be
transferred directly or indirectly from an infected person to another person (after the
onset of symptoms or before)
--(human is reservoir for syphilis)
B. Animals (Zoonoses)
-- Pets
-- Rodents- Rabies, Plague, Brucellosis
C. Soil & Plants - free living
--Fungi
-- Molds
✔✔portal of exit (escape from reservoir) chain of infection - ✔✔escape routes (no
escape = no spread)
--Respiratory tract - most common and most dangerous. Moisture, droplets, and close
contact.
-- Integumentary - open lesions - Blood Borne Pathogens (BBP)
-- Blood/Serum - needles, transfusion, BBP
-- GI tract - Vomit, feces
-- Sexual route - Sexually Transmitted Diseases/infections (STDs)
✔✔transmission (chain of infection) - ✔✔organism transport from its source to a new
host
A. Vertical Transmission - infection is passed from parent to offspring via sperm,
placenta, milk or vaginal contact at birth
, B. Horizontal
1. Direct - physical contact with infected person, animal or carrier; or touching, skin
contact, membrane to membrane, droplet (short distances), fecal-oral
2. Indirect - organism needs to be able to survive outside the body for short period of
time; OR inanimate objects- nonliving, toys, bedding
3. Common vehicle transmission- Transportation of the infectious agent from an
infected host to a susceptible host via food, water, milk, blood, serum, plasma
4. Vectors - ticks, mosquitos, snails: they transmit infectious agent by biting or
depositing the infective material near the host.
✔✔portal of reentry into new host (chain of infection) - ✔✔A. Respiratory - moisture,
droplets, and close contact
B. Integumentary - open lesions, BBP, parasites - lice, scabies/biting, insects
C. Blood/Serum - escape with needles, dressings, transfusions - BBP
D. GI tract - vomit/feces from another person, food spoilage, water contamination
E. Sexual route - STDs
Same as exit portals usually...
✔✔susceptible new host (chain of infection) - ✔✔Resistance - the ability of the host to
withstand infection - diminished in new hosts
--defense mechanisms diminished
--poor immunity
✔✔Defense mechanisms diminished in susceptible new host - ✔✔--Body properties:
~~tears, skin, mucous, saliva, cilia, immune system, genetic make-up
~~age - ↓resistance = elderly, infants, young children
~~ especially undernourished and chronic illnesses
--Non-specific:
~~diet
~~ lifestyle (stress, sleep, drug use, sex practices, substance use, education)
✔✔breaking the chain of infection - ✔✔--Break the Chain of infection.
--Aim at weakest link.
--Interventions at each level that will "break the chain" and stop the spread of disease
✔✔breaking the chain: infectious agents - ✔✔(anything that destroys the agent)
--Bacteria - antibiotics (bacteriocidal drug), antibacterial gels
-- Pasteurization of milk/juices
--Virus - anti-virals
-- Chlorine/boiling of water
-- Sterilizing/bleach
--Cooking
-- autoclave
