Glossary

Antibody - proteins produced by the immune system for the purpose of recognizing foreign substances

Antigen - a substance that stimulates the immune system to fight against a foreign object that has be recognized in the body

Asymptomatic - to be void of recognizable symptoms of a disease

Carrier - a person or animal that carries an infectious agent and doesn't show any noticeable signs of the disease

Endemic - a disease that continuously exists in its native geographic region

Epidemic - an unexpected outbreak or increase in cases of a certain disease within a community or region

Host - an organism that a parasite lives on

IgG - an antibody that when present in the blood indicates a recent or remote infection

IgM - an antibody that when present in the blood indicates an acute infection

Immunocompromised - a decreased ability to fight infection due to conditions present at birth, certain medications or another disease

Non-endemic - a disease that is contained within a certain region, but is no native to the area

Nosocomial infection - (cross infection) an infection that a patient acquires at a hospital and/or other healthcare facility

Pandemic - a disease that affects an increased number of the population over a large geographic area, often worldwide

Vector - a carrier who transmits an infective agent to another host

Virus - a very small infectious agent