13

CHAPTER

197

Epidemiology

and Disease

No one wants to give a friend a cold, so we always cover a sneeze with our
hands. However, the germs are still on our hands and are transferred to door-
knobs, the food we touch, and to friends when we greet them with a handshake.
In this chapter, you’ll learn about diseases and how disease are spread from
one person to another. You’ll also learn ways that outbreaks of disease are con-
trolled and prevented by taking simple precautions.

What Is Epidemiology?

Epidemiologyis the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases or
conditions of a population. The word originated from the two Greek words epi
(“among”) and demos(“people”), or “among the people.” An epidemiologistis
a scientist trained to identify and prevent diseases in a given population. They
are concerned with the etiology,or the specific cause of a disease in a given pop-

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