Introduction to Epidemiology 6th Edition by Ray M Merrill

Exercise 3

Why are primary prevention measures more complex for chronic diseases such as heart disease or cancer than infectious acute conditions like cholera or Lyme disease?

Step 1 of 4

Infectious diseases are caused by a single pathogen and the causal agents are not interrelated. The prevention and control of the spread of an acute infectious disease is relatively simpler because a single causal agent is involved and can thus get eliminated by following certain guidelines and preventive measures.

Infected patients are the main cause of spread of the pathogen to their immediate environments, thus, treating these patients in isolation could restrict further spread of the pathogen.