Molecular Epidemiology, Concepts and Domains

Abstract: Molecular epidemiology is relatively a new scientific field that explores the epidemiological aspects of diseases using molecular techniques. Genetic epidemiology is a branch of molecular epidemiology that explores the expression of genes and the interactions between genes and environment. Moreover, molecular epidemiology is one of the best methods to address some specific issues such as: 1. Exploring how diseases such as HIV/AIDS had expanded among countries and in the world 2. Exploring the distribution of diseases in populations and tracking their transmission chains 3. Exploring the virulence of pathogens using molecular markers and linking their characteristics to the epidemiological indicators such as incidence and prevalence In this paper written for general practitioners and medical experts, the applications of molecular epidemiology in public health and medicine by unfolding simple and practical examples have been discussed. Keywords: Molecular epidemiology