This chapter defines communicable diseases and attempts to unify communicable diseases into basic units: the agent, route of transmission, host factors and the environment. The roles of these basic elements in the infectious process are discussed.

This chapter describes the "force of infection" and endemicity concepts, and discusses the epidemic theory in the investigation of common epidemic source, propagated source epidemics, dynamics of epidemics, population size, and food and water-borne epidemics. The estimation of the magnitude of the...

This chapter discusses how to interrupt transmission of infectious diseases with the various control methods available, including vaccination, environmental control (hygiene, sanitation), vector control (insecticides, repellents, biological control, environmental modification, personal protection), ...

This chapter describes the events in the investigation, control and surveillance of an infectious disease outbreak.

This chapter outlines the infectious diseases for notification according to international and national (England and Wales) regulations, and suggestions for setting a surveillance system of international and national importance. Vaccination requirements are discussed.

This chapter briefly describes the classification of infectious diseases into the following groups: water-washed diseases, faecal-oral diseases, foodborne diseases, diseases of soil contact, diseases of water contact, skin infections, respiratory diseases and other airborne transmitted infections,...

This chapter describes the clinical features, diagnosis, transmission, incubation and transmission periods, occurrence, distribution, control, prevention, treatment (e.g., drug therapy) and surveillance of water-washed diseases (i.e., diseases of poor hygiene that can be controlled by increasing...

This chapter describes the clinical features, diagnosis, transmission, incubation and transmission periods, occurrence, distribution, control, prevention, treatment (e.g., oral rehydration therapy, drug therapy) and surveillance of diseases transmitted through the oral-faecal route, including...

This chapter describes the clinical features, diagnosis, transmission, incubation and transmission periods, occurrence, distribution, control, prevention, treatment (e.g., fluid therapy, oral rehydration therapy, drug therapy) and surveillance of foodborne diseases, including food poisoning caused...

This chapter describes the clinical features, diagnosis, transmission, incubation and transmission periods, occurrence, distribution, control, prevention, treatment (e.g., drug therapy) and surveillance of diseases transmitted through soil contact, including trichuriasis, ascariasis, hookworm...