Glossary article for the COVID-19 pandemic
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The COVID-19 pandemic has created and popularized many terms relating to disease and videoconferencing.
| Part of a series on the |
| COVID-19 pandemic |
|---|
| |
|
| COVID-19 portal |
The COVID-19 pandemic has created and popularized many terms relating to disease and videoconferencing.
The global reduction of modern human activity, especially travel.
The spread of a contagious illness by those without symptoms, or before the appearance of symptoms.
An extra administration of a vaccine following an earlier dose.
The commercial name for the FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, released August 21, 2021. It also has several other names or designators used on the actual vials.
The spread of a contagious disease to an individual with no known contact with other infected populations.
The process of identification of persons who may have come into contact with an infected person.
A person who ignores safety guidelines, potentially spreading COVID-19.
Governmental safety interventions meant to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
A term used to describe an excessive immune response resulting in multiple organ failure.
Endlessly scrolling through bad news especially social media, to the detriment of the reader's mental health.
An employee who provides essential services to the public.
A public health strategy to slow down the spread of a virus involving voluntary and involuntary restrictions on social interactions. Also called "plank the curve".
A portmanteau of "flu" and "corona" referring to a double infection of coronavirus and influenza strains.
An object or surface that may contain an infectious virus or bacteria that can be a means of transmission.
A term to describe when a high percentage of a defined population is immune to a disease because of vaccination or prior exposure to a disease.
Combining different brands or types of vaccines, instead of getting multiple doses of the same vaccine. This may be done for practical reasons such as a vaccine shortage or in the hope of a better response.
A cell in the body that becomes invaded by a virus and then acts as a host to produce more virus particles.
The practice of taking hygiene measures intended to give the illusion of improved health safety while actually doing little to reduce any risk.
The capability of multicellular organisms to resist harmful microorganisms.
The time it takes for an individual who is infected with a disease to start showing symptoms.
A term used to describe individuals who contracted COVID-19 and exhibit symptoms for an extended period of time compared to the majority of the recovered population.
A portmanteau of "mask" and "acne" referring to acne and other rashes of the face that occur in association with mask wearing.
An acronym for a "polymerase chain reaction test" that determines if a sample contains genetic material from a virus.
Virtual happy hour.
Pronounced "R-naught" or "R-zero"; a measurement used to describe the intensity of an outbreak.
Also called an "antibody test" is used to determine if an individual had been infected with a virus in the past by testing for antibodies in the bloodstream.
The number of people in which antibodies to a disease have been detected in a specific population.
Also called "physical distancing" is the practice of keeping a certain distance from other people, in order to stop a disease from spreading.
Or "superspreading event" is a person or event that infects a large number of people with a contagious disease.
A portmanteau of "twin" and "pandemic" referring to simultaneous cases of the flu and COVID-19.
Also called "viral dose" refers to the amount of a virus an individual has been exposed to including biological and environmental specimens.
A suppression strategy that involves using public health measures such as contact tracing, mass testing, and border quarantine and lockdowns
A term used to describe a disease originating in animals that has mutated to infect humans.
A brand of videoconferencing software popularized during the pandemic.
Fatigue associated with the overuse of virtual platforms of communication such as videoconferencing.
Unwanted members joining a Zoom call.
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease, is an illness resulting from an infection.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40 °C (104 °F), cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik's spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms. Common complications include diarrhea, middle ear infection (7%), and pneumonia (6%). These occur in part due to measles-induced immunosuppression. Less commonly seizures, blindness, or inflammation of the brain may occur. Other names include morbilli, rubeola, red measles, and English measles. Both rubella, also known as German measles, and roseola are different diseases caused by unrelated viruses.
Mumps is a highly contagious viral disease caused by the mumps virus. Initial symptoms of mumps are non-specific and include fever, headache, malaise, muscle pain, and loss of appetite. These symptoms are usually followed by painful swelling around the side of the face, which is the most common symptom of a mumps infection. Symptoms typically occur 16 to 18 days after exposure to the virus. About one third of people with a mumps infection do not have any symptoms (asymptomatic).
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derived from the large cells known as syncytia that form when infected cells fuse.
In immunology, seroconversion is the development of specific antibodies in the blood serum as a result of infection or immunization, including vaccination. During infection or immunization, antigens enter the blood, and the immune system begins to produce antibodies in response. Before seroconversion, the antigen itself may or may not be detectable, but the antibody is absent. During seroconversion, the antibody is present but not yet detectable. After seroconversion, the antibody is detectable by standard techniques and remains detectable unless the individual seroreverts, in a phenomenon called seroreversion, or loss of antibody detectability, which can occur due to weakening of the immune system or decreasing antibody concentrations over time. Seroconversion refers the production of specific antibodies against specific antigens, meaning that a single infection could cause multiple waves of seroconversion against different antigens. Similarly, a single antigen could cause multiple waves of seroconversion with different classes of antibodies. For example, most antigens prompt seroconversion for the IgM class of antibodies first, and subsequently the IgG class.
Virulent Newcastle disease (VND), formerly exotic Newcastle disease, is a contagious viral avian disease affecting many domestic and wild bird species; it is transmissible to humans. Though it can infect humans, most cases are non-symptomatic; rarely it can cause a mild fever and influenza-like symptoms and/or conjunctivitis in humans. Its effects are most notable in domestic poultry due to their high susceptibility and the potential for severe impacts of an epizootic on the poultry industries. It is endemic to many countries. No treatment for VND is known, but the use of prophylactic vaccines and sanitary measures reduces the likelihood of outbreaks.
Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, identified SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H2N1, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
The schedule for childhood immunizations in the United States is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccination schedule is broken down by age: birth to six years of age, seven to eighteen, and adults nineteen and older. Childhood immunizations are key in preventing diseases with epidemic potential.
A breakthrough infection is a case of illness in which a vaccinated individual becomes infected with the illness, because the vaccine has failed to provide complete immunity against the pathogen. Breakthrough infections have been identified in individuals immunized against a variety of diseases including mumps, varicella (Chickenpox), influenza, and COVID-19. The characteristics of the breakthrough infection are dependent on the virus itself. Often, infection of the vaccinated individual results in milder symptoms and shorter duration than if the infection were contracted naturally.
Globalization, the flow of information, goods, capital, and people across political and geographic boundaries, allows infectious diseases to rapidly spread around the world, while also allowing the alleviation of factors such as hunger and poverty, which are key determinants of global health. The spread of diseases across wide geographic scales has increased through history. Early diseases that spread from Asia to Europe were bubonic plague, influenza of various types, and similar infectious diseases.
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over. It usually starts on the chest, back, and face. It then spreads to the rest of the body. The rash and other symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, and headaches, usually last five to seven days. Complications may occasionally include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, and bacterial skin infections. The disease is usually more severe in adults than in children.
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu" or just "flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin one to four days after exposure to the virus and last for about two to eight days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia from the virus or a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.
Influenza-like illness (ILI), also known as flu-like syndrome or flu-like symptoms, is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms. These include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, dry cough, loss of appetite, body aches, nausea, and sneezing typically in connection with a sudden onset of illness. In most cases, the symptoms are caused by cytokines released by immune system activation, and are thus relatively non-specific.
Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people get a mosquito-borne illness each year, resulting in over tens million deaths. The devastation is almost equivalent to the entire 3 year COVID-19 global pandemic.
A superspreading event (SSEV) is an event in which an infectious disease is spread much more than usual, while an unusually contagious organism infected with a disease is known as a superspreader. In the context of a human-borne illness, a superspreader is an individual who is more likely to infect others, compared with a typical infected person. Such superspreaders are of particular concern in epidemiology.
Vaccine shedding is a form of viral shedding which can occasionally occur following a viral infection caused by an attenuated vaccine. Illness in others resulting from transmission through this type of viral shedding is rare. Most vaccines are not attenuated vaccines, and therefore cannot cause vaccine-induced viral shedding, though the idea of shedding is a popular anti-vaccination myth.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Most scientists believe the SARS-CoV-2 virus entered into human populations through natural zoonosis, similar to the SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV outbreaks, and consistent with other pandemics in human history. Social and environmental factors including climate change, natural ecosystem destruction and wildlife trade increased the likelihood of such zoonotic spillover. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
An immunity passport, immunity certificate, health pass or release certificate is a document, whether in paper or digital format, attesting that its bearer has a degree of immunity to a contagious disease. Public certification is an action that governments can take to mitigate an epidemic.
Vabiotech COVID-19 vaccine is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1 (Vabiotech) in Vietnam.
COVID-19 is predicted to become an endemic disease by many experts. The observed behavior of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, suggests it is unlikely it will die out, and the lack of a COVID-19 vaccine that provides long-lasting immunity against infection means it cannot immediately be eradicated; thus, a future transition to an endemic phase appears probable. In an endemic phase, people would continue to become infected and ill, but in relatively stable numbers. Such a transition may take years or decades. Precisely what would constitute an endemic phase is contested.