14/06/2025
🔹 Definition:
Communicable diseases are illnesses caused by infectious agents that can be transmitted from one person, animal, or object to another.
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🔹 Causative Agents:
1. Bacteria – e.g., Tuberculosis, Typhoid
2. Viruses – e.g., Influenza, HIV/AIDS
3. Fungi – e.g., Ringworm
4. Protozoa – e.g., Malaria
5. Helminths (worms) – e.g., Ascariasis
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🔹 Modes of Transmission:
1. Direct Contact: Touch, kissing, sexual contact
2. Indirect Contact: Contaminated surfaces, utensils
3. Droplet Transmission: Sneezing, coughing
4. Airborne Transmission: TB, measles
5. Vector-Borne: Mosquitoes (Malaria, Dengue)
6. Fecal-Oral Route: Poor sanitation (Cholera)
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🔹 Incubation Period:
The time between the entry of the pathogen and the appearance of symptoms.
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🔹 Prevention and Control:
✅ Health education
✅ Immunization (e.g., polio, measles vaccines)
✅ Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
✅ Isolation of infected patients
✅ Safe water and sanitation
✅ Vector control (nets, spraying)
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🔹 Role of Nurse:
Early identification of symptoms
Reporting notifiable diseases
Educating patients and families
Supporting vaccination programs
Infection control practices (handwashing, PPE)
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