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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Outbreaks and Transmission

Isolation

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃn/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, isolation means: Keeping people who are sick or known to be infected away from others, at home or in a health facility, to stop the infection spreading.

In Turkish: izolasyon, yalıtım, tecrit

How it is used

Common in hospitals (isolation room, isolation ward) and in outbreak guidance (self-isolation). People isolate, self-isolate or are placed in isolation, and isolation ends when they are no longer infectious.

Example sentences

  1. The patient with suspected TB was moved to an isolation room.

  2. Strict isolation of cases helped bring the outbreak under control.

Common collocations

  • self-isolation
  • isolation room
  • isolation ward
  • in isolation
  • strict isolation
  • quarantineSeparating and restricting the movement of people who may have been exposed to an infection but are not sick, to see whether they become ill.
  • contact tracingFinding and contacting people who have been near an infected person, so they can be informed, tested, watched for symptoms or asked to stay at home.
  • transmissionThe passing of an infection from one person, animal or source to another, for example through the air, by touch, through food and water or by insects.
  • caseA person in a population or study who has the disease, infection or condition being investigated, usually decided by agreed criteria.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Outbreaks and Transmission

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.