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