Hypertension, Primary Health Care and Public Health

Public Health & Infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are a major concern for the public health because despite some predictions, they remain the leading causes of death globally. There have been some staggering impacts of the HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis epidemics globally. Furthermore, the emergence of previously unrecognised pathogens and the threat of resistant pathogens have collective put everyone’s attention towards the importance of public health and also the requirement of well trained professionals in infectious diseases. The diseases are generally caused by the pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi can spread, directly or indirectly, from one individual to another. The role of Infectious disease epidemiology is to monitor the emergence of infectious diseases and develop strategies for control and prevention of diseases. Traditional epidemiologic methods as well as methods such as mathematical modelling are used for analysis. Knowledge in laboratory techniques for the identification and quantification of infectious agents as well as clinical and biological features of important infectious diseases are required of the epidemiologists dealing with infectious diseases.