Epidemiology & Public Health

Epidemiology and Medicine

Epidemiology, outlet of medical science that studies the distribution of disease in human populations and the factors determining that distribution, mainly by the use of statistics. Unlike other medical disciplines, epidemiology concerns itself with clusters of people rather than distinct patients and is recurrently retrospective, or historical, in nature. It advanced out of the search for origins of human disease in the 19th century, and one of its chief functions remains the identification of populations at high risk for a given disease so that the cause may be identified and preventive measures implemented. The custom of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) systems depends extremely on information created by epidemiological investigations. Epidemiological approaches are used for disease surveillance for the identification of hazards which are the most vital. Epidemiological studies are also used for the identification of threat factors which may characterize critical control points in the food production system.