Epidemiologic Triangle

Robert Koch discovered tuberculosis in 1882. In 1870 Tuberculosis was a dreaded disease in the United States. Tuberculosis was known to be communicable and incurable. According to Maurer & Smith (2013), Tuberculosis was the primary cause of death among adolescent and adults. Physicians throughout the nineteenth century had recommended fresh air, rest, and healthy food (pg. 41). The following paragraphs will discuss what the communicable disease is and the demographic of interest. Also, discuss the determinants of health and how those factors contribute to the development of Tuberculosis. The epidemiologic triangle will be discussed as it relates to Tuberculosis. Furthermore, the role of the community health nurse will be explained. Lastly,

For example, people with weakened immune system, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, severe kidney disease, certain cancers, patients undergoing chemotherapy and others. According to the Mayo Clinic (2016) a healthy immune system often successfully fights TB bacteria, but your body can't mount an effective defense if your resistance is low. Also people that travel or live in certain areas such as Africa, Easter Europe, Asia, Russia, Latin America and Caribbean Islands are more likely to contract Tuberculosis, because these areas have a higher rate of tuberculosis and drug resisting TB. Likewise, people that live in poverty lack medical care and therefore will live with TB without knowing. Lastly where people live and work can also be a factor to being more susceptible to contracting Tuberculosis. For example, people that live or work in a residential care facility, health care workers and people that live in refugee camps or shelters are more susceptible to contracting Tuberculosis. The reason why all these situations contribute to the development of tuberculosis is because there is poor ventilation, there is overcrowding and regular contact with people that are

The epidemiologic triangle consists of the host, the agent and the environment. According to the CDC (2012), the Host is the organism harboring the disease. The agent is the microbe that causes the disease and the environment is those external factors that cause or allow disease transmission. The epidemiologic triangle for Tuberculosis is as follow: The agent is the Tuberculosis organism. The hosts are poor nutrition, concurrent disease and low immunity. Lastly, the environment are, crowding, poor ventilation and bad