Epidemiology

as well as other areas of medicine.

Epidemiology is a branch of medical science that studies the causes and patterns of the occurrence and spread of mass diseases, and also develops methods for preventing and combating them. Historically, the object of study of epidemiology was infectious diseases, since their spread often became widespread and was accompanied by millions of victims. In the ancient world, such measures to combat epidemics were known as removing sick people from the city, burning things of the sick and dead, involving those who had recovered from the disease in caring for the sick, and prohibiting the sick from visiting churches, bakeries, and using wells.

In the 14th century, quarantine began to be used in Europe, and in Russia they resorted to isolating the sick from the healthy. The founders of epidemiology as a science are considered to be the Italian doctor Giovanni Fracastoro, who created the doctrine of contagious (infectious) diseases, and in Russia - Dmitry Samoilovich, who in the 18th century described the epidemic process of the plague and proposed measures to prevent it.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the research of outstanding microbiologists Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Ilya Mechnikov and other scientists, the discovery of the causative agents of many infectious diseases, created opportunities for an objective study of the subject of epidemiology and determined its formation as a scientific discipline. In modern epidemiology, the leading approach is to the study of epidemics, the elements of which are the source of infection, the mechanism of transmission of pathogens, the susceptibility of the community and the patterns of spread of diseases depending on social and other environmental factors.

Modern epidemiology uses a complex method, including epidemiological, survey, microbiological, sanitary and other studies, comparative historical study of epidemics, statistical analysis and experimental method. The development of epidemiology is associated with the successes of such branches of medical science as microbiology, virology, parasitology, immunology, hygiene, as well as the clinic of infectious diseases.

In epidemiological practice, the achievements of these sciences are used in the creation of vaccines, means and methods of disinfection, methods of laboratory diagnostics and therapy. In modern conditions, the term "epidemiology" is also more widely used to describe the spread of any disease, including non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and others.

Epidemiological studies make it possible to identify factors that contribute to the occurrence and spread of various diseases and to develop measures to prevent them. For example, based on epidemiological studies, recommendations have been developed for the prevention of influenza, hepatitis, HIV infection and other diseases.

An important area of ​​epidemiology is morbidity monitoring. This allows you to monitor the dynamics of the spread of diseases and timely take measures to prevent and control them. In modern conditions, morbidity monitoring is carried out using electronic data collection and analysis systems.

In general, epidemiology is an important science that helps maintain public health and prevent mass diseases.