Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

16 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY 11 Key Infectious Disease Terms to Know By Brian Zimmerman A s international travel, climate change and ecological degradation fuel the global spread of infectious disease, hav- ing a firm grasp on epidemiological nomencla- ture is becoming increasingly important. NPR published a short glossary compiled by science writer Natalie Jacewicz of important terms and definitions to know regarding in- fectious diseases. Peter Krause, MD, an epide- miologist at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn., also contributed to the piece. Here are 11 infectious disease terms to know. 1. Animal-human interface: When humans and animals interact aer people set up dwellings on land stripped of trees and other flora, but where forest animals remain preva- lent. Diseases can be spread from animals to humans in this manner. 2. Emerging disease: A disease that infects a particular regional population for the first time, or a disease that's been present at low levels in a region but then rapidly becomes more prevalent. 3. Epidemic: An increase in the number of cases of a disease in a particular geographic region exceeding the number typically expe- rienced. 4. Index case: e first person infected with a pathogen known to health officials — oen referred to as "patient zero." 5. Microbe: A living thing that is invisible to the human eye like bacteria, fungi or viruses. 6. One Health: A phrase that expresses the inherent linkage between the health of hu- mans, animals and the environment. 7. Pandemic: An epidemic spanning many countries, regions or continents. e parame- ters of this definition are a bit amorphous and largely depend on the opinions of scientists and health officials using the term. 8. Reservoir: An animal, plant or environ- ment in which a disease can subsist for ex- tended periods of time. 9. Spillover: e transmission of disease from one species to another. 10. Vector: A living creature that passes a dis- ease to another living creature. 11. Zoonotic: Any disease that spreads from animals — including insects — to people. n CDC: 13 People Affected by Rare Rat Virus Outbreak By Heather Punke A s of Feb. 16, 13 people in eight states had contracted the Seoul virus, a virus carried by wild and domestic rats, ac- cording to a CDC update on the outbreak. The following states reported lab-confirmed Seoul virus infections to the CDC: Colorado, Il- linois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. The CDC first reported the outbreak on Jan. 18 after eight infections were detected in Illinois and Wisconsin. Investigators traced the start of the outbreak to ratteries in Illinois and Wiscon- sin. Now, the CDC is investigating ratteries in 16 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. Seoul virus is a hantavirus carried by wild and domestic Norway rats. It doesn't make the rats sick, but the virus can spread if humans are ex- posed to blood, saliva or urine of an infected rat or if they are bitten by one. The virus does not spread person to person. Symptoms in- clude fever, headache, nausea, blurred vision and a rash. n 4 Things to Know About the Infection Prevention Profession By Heather Punke I nfection preventionists play a critically important role in healthcare, but their profes- sion is somewhat of a mystery to most. "Despite increasing recognition of the importance of infection prevention, relatively little is known about contemporary IP practice," said Timothy Landers, PhD, RN, chair of the research committee with APIC. "To pro- vide resources to support IPs and identify future directions for infection prevention, APIC felt it was critical to understand IPs' current practice environments." The organization surveyed 4,078 APIC members in 2015 and pub- lished preliminary results from the survey in the American Jour- nal of Infection Control in Febru- ary. Here are four things to know about infection preventionists, pulled from the APIC survey. 1. Most (66.2 percent) infection preventionists work in acute care hospitals. The rest work in long- term care facilities, outpatient settings, ambulatory care or oth- er settings. 2. Surveillance and investigation account for 25.4 percent of infec- tion preventionists' time. IPs also spend time on prevention and control of transmission (15.6 per- cent), identification of infection (14.2 percent) and management and communication (12.2 per- cent), among other activities. 3. Nearly half of survey partici- pants (43 percent) were certified in infection prevention and con- trol. Several other participants (37.7 percent) said they were not currently certified but plan to sit for certification in the future. 4. Respondents with current in- fection prevention and control certification made more money than those without ($85,911 ver- sus $68,817). n

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