Epidemiology

The epidemiology is the study of the distribution and the determinants of the events of health in the human populations.

Epidemiology is defined ace follows in the Dictionary off Epidemiology (Last 2001): " The study off the distribution determining and off health-related states gold vents in specified populations, and the application off this study to control off health problems. “Study” includes monitoring, observation, hypothesis testing, analytic research, and experiments. “Distribution” refers to analysis by time, place, and classes off let us persons affected. “Determining” are all the physical, biological, social, farming, and behavioral factors that health influence. “Health-related states and vents” include diseases, causes off death, behaviors such ace off uses tobacco, reactions to preventive regimens, and provision and uses health services off. “Specified populations” identifiable are those with characteristics such ace precisely defined numbers. “Application to control…” makes explicit the aim off epidemiology - to promote, protect, and restore health". -->

The epidemiological studies are in general divided into two categories, or contain two parts:

• descriptive
• analytical (usually aiming to propose and/or check assumptions of cause and effect links, likely to lead to proposals for a solution).

These last can be carried out directly within the populations (they are known as of observation) or within a controlled framework (they are known as experimental (a term often synonymous with clinical trials or Community of treatments and other interventions).

The etymology d'" épidémiologie" (Greek ear = above, among; demonstrations = people, district; logos = word, speech) suggests that it applies only to the human populations, but the term is largely used in studies on animal populations (" epidemiology animale"). Although the " term; epizootiology " that is to say available, and was always applied to studies on vegetable populations (" epidemiology botanique"), the term epiphytology is not employed (in French, at the very least).

Though the recognition of epidemiology as field of study is relatively recent, epidemiology was one of the pillars of the Public health and the Médecine through the history.

The approaches of the epidemiologists are varied; " terrain" (in the middle of the community, often in a department of health public) with the face of research and fight against the emergence of the diseases while passing by modeling and health monitoring.

History of epidemiology

Dr. John Snow is famous to have dammed up in 1854 an epidemic of Choléra in the district of Soho to London. He identified a public water pump of Broad Street as being the cause of the epidemic, and the handle removed some, which put an end to the epidemic.

That constitutes an major event of the Histoire of the Public health, and can be regarded as the founding document of the science of epidemiology.

One of the first doctors used the Statistical S in Medicine to test an assumption on a etiology of a disease, namely the Fièvre puerpérale, was Ignace Philippe Semmelweis.

He proposed with his contemporaries to wash their hands in a hypochlorite solution (of bleach) and already sterilized at his time his surgical instruments… It colligea its work in a book, Die Aetiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis of Kindbettfiebers, published in 1861. Unfortunately, the opposition among its contemporaries did not make it possible to advance its ideas. It had sent to its expenses its book with all the senior registrars of Gynéco-obstetrics of its time….

At the beginning of the 20th century, mathematical methods were introduced in epidemiology by Ronald Ross, W.O Kermarck and A.G. McKendrick. By after, other authors published mathematical models in epidemiology (Bailey, Muench, Anderson, Gray,…).

The rapid access with transparent and valid information appeared to be a major stake, with in particular the publication in 1956 of the results of the study of the British doctors, Doll and Bradford Hill, which has provides a statistical support to the suspicion of a bond between Tabagisme and Lung cancer, then with the development of waves of emergent diseases likely to become pandemic S.

One of the stakes for the 21e century is to improve collaboration of the medical world and the world Vétérinaire epidemiology ecoepidemiology and division of information, because the majority of the alarming emergent diseases sound dependant on the Environment and often on tanks in the animal world. Sometimes in fact the microbes of the man can also infect the livestock and savage.
Via WHO or of the more regional and local authorities, and thanks to the new computer tools (NTIC), of the networks of day before or exchanges of information specialized (on the Avian flu are built.
La protection of the patient's rights, like the secrecy protecting the data of laboratories and installations at the risk or certain states are brakes with an optimal management of the crises. As example, the European commission launched in August 2007 its new system of medical information “ Médisys ”. This tool analyzes almost in real-time, and for 3 topics (“diseases”, “bioterrorism” and “other threats”), the data collected in 32 languages on more than 1.000 Internet sites of current events, and 120 sites public health. This should make it possible the health authorities to give faster and efficient answers to the existing crises T to come, including in the fields of the industrial accidents, and the Bioterrorisme.

References