Microbiology: A Human Perspective 7th Edition by Eugene Nester,Martha Nester,Denise Anderson, Evans Roberts

Exercise 1

Rates of disease within a population are a concern of epidemiologists who study disease patterns. Disease may be prevented by controlling the environment, the pathogen, or the host. The reservoir of a disease agent can be infected people, other animals, or the environment. To spread, infectious microbes must exit one host and enter another. Handwashing and vector control can prevent many diseases; airborne transmission of pathogens is difficult to control. The outcome of transmission is affected by the virulence and dose of the infecting agent, the incubation period, and by various characteristics of the host population.
Explain the difference between incidence of a disease and prevalence of the disease.