GLOSSARY OF MONTH
- Antibody:
o A protein immune system makes in response to an infection. If you have antibodies for the coronavirus in your blood, it means you have been infected with this virus at some point.
- Community spread
o The spread of an illness within a particular location, like a neighborhood or town. During community spread, there’s no clear source of contact or infection.
- Co-morbidities
o Several health conditions including uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, cancer, morbid obesity, lung diseases, compromised immune systems put patients at greater risk for contracting the infection, and also have poor clinical outcomes.
- Contact tracing
o The process of identifying, assessing, and managing people who have been exposed to a contagious disease to prevent onward transmission
- Flattening the curve
o Controlling the rate of new cases of COVID-19. The “curve” refers to a graph showing the number of cases of COVID-19 that happen over a period of time.
- Incubation period
o the time between when an individual is first exposed to the virus and the appearance of symptoms.
- Pandemic
o An epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, impacting many people.
- PPE
o PPE Stands for personal protective equipment. This includes masks, face shields, gloves, gowns and other coverings that healthcare workers use to prevent the spread of infection,
- Herd Immunity
o Herd immunity, or community immunity, is when a large part of the population of an area is immune to a specific disease.
- Plasma therapy
o involves attempting to improve the immunity of a serious patient by infusing some of the blood plasma of a person who has already recovered from the disease. Plasma is the matrix on which the blood cells float. It also houses crucial components of immunity known as antibodies. Antibodies are the immediate warriors who fight an invading pathogen – an antigen.
- A serological survey (Serosurvey)
o It is done to detect the presence of specific antibodies and is used to assess the prevalence of a disease in the population. The test indicates past infections (and which triggered an immune response) and is not used to detect active infections.
- Rapid Antigen Test
o It is a test on swabbed nasal samples that detects antigens (foreign substances that induce an immune response in the body) that are found on or within the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A rapid antigen test (RAT) is a rapid diagnostic test suitable for point-of-care testing that directly
detects the presence or absence of an antigen. Antigen tests are faster than PCR
tests, but they have a higher risk of false positives.
- RT- PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction)
o It is the primary test to detect COVID-19 infection across the globe. It is a sensitive test
that uses swab samples drawn from the nasal/oral cavity to test for the presence of viral
RNA (ribonucleic acid). It has got better sensitivity (ability to correctly identify those with
the disease) and specificity (ability to correctly identify those without the disease) rates
in current diagnostic tests for COVID.
- Pulse oximeter
o oximeter is a small, lightweight device used to monitor the amount of oxygen carried
in the body. This noninvasive tool attaches painlessly to your fingertip, sending two
wavelengths of light through the finger to measure pulse rate and how much oxygen is in
your system.
- Super spreader
o Some individuals seem to have the capacity to cause more infections in a
disproportionately large number of people, than others.