Question

Describe the epidemiologic triangle and explain the three elements of the triangle and how they are related in case of an infectious disease using your own example.

Answer 1

Epidemiological triad is  the interaction between an agent, host or persons and environment. The epidemiological triad can be applied to non-infectious diseases where the agent could be ‘unhealthy behaviours, unsafe practices, or unintended exposures to hazardous substances’.

Components :

1. Agent: infectious microorganisms like bacteria, virus or which are causative factors like  risk factors or environmental exposures

2. Host: person in general who can get the disease

3. Environment: biological, physical or psychosocial environment

example: HIV

Agent: HIV is a viral infection that targets a person’s immune system. Therefore caused by virus so it is an agen.

host: it affects humans and spread inside the human body so human is the host

enviornment: there are many socio economic, biological factors that spread the hiv virus