To epidemiologists, does “index case” and “patient zero” both mean the same thing? That the patient is the very first person to contract the virus before it got to other people (used as a pinpoint)?

Question

To epidemiologists, does “index case” and “patient zero” both mean the same thing? That the patient is the very first person to contract the virus before it got to other people (used as a pinpoint)?

In: 39

Answer 1

Patient Zero was a name given to the suspected index case of HIV, but index case is the general term. Since then however, somewhat understandably given the fame and infamy of HIV, “Patient Zero” has entered the public lexicon as a synonym for index case.