B1 - Keeping Healthy Flashcards
What is an epidemic?
A disease affecting many people in a country/area.
Why does bird flu spread quicker than swine flu?
There are more birds than pigs and birds migrate so it is difficult to control their movement.
Why will antibiotics not get rid of flu?
Antibiotics only kill bacteria and flu is caused by a virus.
Explain why a person’s diet should contain fat, protein and carbohydrates.
For a balanced diet as carbohydrates are needed for energy, proteins for growth (building cells) and repair and fats for energy and insulation.
Why does the body need vitamins and minerals?
To maintain health and prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy, rickets and osteoporosis.
Explain why pathogens make us feel ill.
Pathogens reproduce quickly and produce large amounts of toxins which damage cells. Bacteria produce toxins, viruses damage cells.
Give three ways in which white blood cells protect us against pathogens.
White blood cells produce antibodies which destroy the pathogens, white blood cells engulf (ingest and digest) pathogens and produce antitoxins which counteract the toxins produced by pathogens.
Why does a vaccination make people immune?
Injecting a patient with a dead/weakened or inactive pathogen. White blood cells produce antibodies which are reproduced quickly on re-infection.
What is the benefit of vaccinating a large number of people of the same population?
It reduces the risk of spreading an infection so an epidemic is less likely.
MMR stands for which three diseases?
Mumps, measles and rubella
Why can antibiotics not be used to cure viral diseases?
Viruses are found inside cells and are therefore inaccessible to the antibiotic.
Explain why there are so many antibiotic-resistant bacteria these days.
Overusing antibiotics kills all non-resistant bacteria. This means there is less competition for non-resistant bacteria, formed as a result of gene mutation, so the non-resistant bacteria can reproduce.
Give three reasons for the low death rate from infectious diseases in modern hospitals.
Better hygiene, better drugs, better understanding about immunity, better sterilisation of equipment, better isolation of patients.
Define metabolic rate.
The rate of chemical reactions inside the body.
Give three factors that affect a person’s metabolic rate.
Level of activity, genes, BMI, age, gender