index patient

American  

[in-deks pay-shuhnt] / ˈɪn dɛks ˌpeɪ ʃənt /

noun

Pathology.

1. the first person known to have a particular disease or other medical condition in a population, especially the first patient in an epidemic known to have contracted the infection.

   The index patient did not immediately test positive, and consequently spread the virus for several days.

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Etymology

Origin of index patient

First recorded in 1950–55

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

index patient

Investigators suspected cases were driven in part by the apartment’s sanitary system, because the outbreak seemed to begin after an index patient suffering from diarrhea used a toilet in the apartment complex.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2020

The Ministry of Health also asked people to contact a hotline if they had been at the hospital in the 2 weeks after the index patient was admitted.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 5, 2015

As the authors of the Eurosurveillance note, the rapid action after Nigeria's index patient was diagnosed helped keep the outbreak from spreading more widely.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2014

The virus spread from that one index patient to 318 people, resulting in 280 deaths.

From Nature ● Oct. 8, 2014

Without knowing the index patient, investigators can’t know how the fateful spillover happened.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2014

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