THE CORRECTNESS FOR THE USE OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY

The Russian scientific literature on the epizootic and epidemic process in parasitic and infectious diseases has been studied. The general patterns of the epizootic and epidemic process have been confirmed using the methodology of comparative analysis of the transmission mechanism, pathways, and factors of zoonotic infectious and invasive pathogens. A comparison of the fundamentally sound terminology used in epizootology and epidemiology which developed before the 70s and 80s of the 20th century and which is currently in use allowed us to identify a number of erroneous interpretations and inaccuracies. Among epizootological and parasitological terms, neologisms appear that confuse the understanding of epizootic and epidemic process patterns. The article provides examples of incorrect terms describing the transmission mechanisms and ways of parasitic and infectious pathogens. When studying the epidemic process and the pathogen transmission mechanism in a specific situation, even if the infection occurs due to two or three transmission mechanisms in one nosological form, it is necessary to present the main one (oral, aerogenic, contact, transplacental, transmissive or transfusion) and to describe the transmission factors in detail, and, in some cases, to characterize the routes known and accepted in official epidemiological science.