| A | B |
|---|
| Antibody | a protein molecule produced and secreted by the bodys cells in response to an antigen |
| Antigen | A substance capable, under appropriate conditions, of inducing a specific immune response |
| Carrier | a person who harbors a specific infectious agent in the absence of a clinical disease and serves as a potential source of infection |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services |
| Communicable | an infectious agent may be transferred directly or indirectly from an infected person to another |
| Endemic | the constant presence of a disease or an infectious agent within a geographical area |
| Immunity | the resistance that a person has against disease, it may be natural or acquired |
| Incubation period | the time interval between the initial contact with an infectious agent and the appearance of the first clinical symptom |
| Infection | a state caused by the invasion, development, or multiplication of an infectious agent into the body |
| Infectious agent | organism capable of producing an infection |
| Parenteral | injection by a route other than alimentary tract, ie intramuscular or intravenous |
| Pathogen | a virus, microorganism, or other substance that causes disease |
| Percutaneous | by way of, or through the skin |
| Seroconversion | after exposure to the etiological agent of a disease, the blood changes from negative to positive for the serum marker for that disease |
| Etiology | the cause of a disease or condition |
| Standard Precautions | an approach to infection control to protect healthcare providers and patients from pathogens that can be spread by blood, or other body fluids |
| Susceptible host | a living organism not possessing resistance against an infectious agent |
| Viral shedding | presence of virus in body secretions, in excretions, or in body surface lesions with potential for transmission |
| Tranmission | occurs when an infected person touches or exchanges body fluids with someone else |
| Virus | a subcellular genetic entity capable of gaining entrance into a limited range of living cells and capable of replication and contains wither DNA or RNA |
