E P I D E M I O L O G I S T COOL STEM CAREERS CHAPTER ONE DISEASE HUNTERS 4 CHAPTER TWO PIONEERS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY 12 CHAPTER THREE DIGGING FOR ANSWERS 18 CHAPTER FOUR A CAREER AS AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST 24 SOME WELL-KNOWN EPIDEMIOLOGISTS 29 GLOSSARY 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 INDEX 32 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trucks with sprayers help prevent the spread of disease-carrying insects 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y S K I L L S L I B R A R Y COOL STEM CAREERS EPIDEMIOLOGIST CHAPTER ONE DISEASE HUNTERS Andrew was puzzled as he looked out his kitchen window one night A large vehicle was driving slowly down his block What’s that truck doing he asked his father
Andrew’s dad came to the window for a closer look See that sprayer mounted on the back of the truck It’s shooting a fine chemical mist into the air he replied What’s the chemical for Andrew asked Is there some thing wrong with the air in our neighborhood The chemical is used to kill mosquitoes that might carry the West Nile virus That can lead to a serious illness Who figured out that such a small insect could be danger ous to people Andrew asked Lots of that type of work is done by scientists and researchers called epidemiologists replied Andrew’s dad They figure out what causes certain diseases and then inform people how to prevent them Sounds like a cool job said Andrew I’d sure like to be a disease hunter Epidemiology is the study of the causes occurrences and control of disease and other public health problems in popu lations or groups of people When we think of medicine we usually think of doctors and nurses who deal with health and disease in individuals Epidemiologists however identify the nature of diseases and why groups of people get them Epidemiologists work to limit disability injury and death in a population The word epidemiology comes from several
