Occupational Health

understanding and preventing health problems related to work and environments

Hazard

something with the potential to cause harm to human health

Exposure

contact between a person and a hazard

Exposure route

how a hazard enters or connects to the body (inhalation, ingestion, or dermal contact)

Acute Health Effect

a health effect occurring soon after exposure (almost instant)

Chronic Health Effect

A health effect developing or persisting over a longer period

Hierarchy of Control

A framework for selecting ways to prevent or reduce exposure

Administrative Control

Changing how or when people work

Engineering Control

Isolating people from a hazard

Public Health

protecting and improving the health of populations through prevention and organized action

Disease

a condition that disrupts normal functioning and produces adverse health effects

Epidemic

Disease occurrence in a population above what is normally expected

Isolation

Separating people who are ill to those who are not

Quarantine

restricting the movement of people who may have been exposed to a disease

Imported Case or Outbreak

A case or outbreak introduced into another geographic location

Transportation Network

A connected system in which people, animals, and goods move between places

One Health

An approach to recognizing that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected

Agriculture Revolution

Centralizing animals and humans in confined quarters after being nomads and introducing new exposure routes

Germ Theory

The scientific concept that microorganisms can cause disease

Pathogen

A biological agent capable of causing disease

Pathogenicity

the ability of a microorganism to cause disease

Virulence

the degree of pathogenicity or capacity of a pathogen to cause disease

Virulence Factor

a structure or characteristic that increases a microorganism's ability to infect a host, overcome host defenses, or cause damage

Infectious Dose

The amount of an infectious agent needed to establish an infection

Agent

a microorganism or other infectious material that causes disease

Reservoir

an organism or environment in which an infectious agent normally lives and is maintained

Vector

an organism that can carry infectious agents from one host to another

Susceptible Host

a person or animal that can become infected by an infectious agent

Transmission Route

the way an infectious agent moves from its source or reservoir to a susceptible host

Vector-borne Transmission

transmission of an infectious agent though a living vector

Yerinsia Pestis

The bacterium that caused the black plague

Contact Tracing

Finding people who have been exposed to a disease or infectious agent

Charles Monet

an explorer that contracted Ebola by his behaviors before/during/after exploring a cave.