B5 Flashcards
What is a communicable disease?
A disease that is caused by a pathogen which CAN be transmitted from person to person
Examples of communicable diseases (name at least 3)
Measles, malaria, HIV/AIDS, Salmonella
What is a pathogen?
A microorganism that causes disease
4 types of pathogens
bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists
What is a non-communicable disease?
A disease that is caused by a pathogen which CANNOT be transmitted from person to person
Examples of non-communicable diseases
Asthma, cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes
Things that can affect health
Diet, stress, gender, ethnicity etc.
What are bacteria?
- Single-celled living organisms, smaller than animals and plant cells
- Split in two and produce toxins (poisons) which affect your body
- Some are harmless and really useful to use, we can use them to make food like yoghurt and cheese
What is a virus?
- Very, very small and have a regular shape
- Take over the cells of your body to reproduce, causing damage and destroying cells
- Can cause disease in a range of organisms, from people to bacteria
Similarities between bacteria and viruses
- Can reproduce rapidly once inside the body
- Cause symptoms like high temperature, headaches and rashes
How do diseases spread?
- Through the air: droplets in the air (sneezes).
- Contaminated foods and drinks
- Direct contact: shaking hands, kissing, touching open wounds
Natural barriers of the body against diseases
- Tears contain chemicals to destroy micro-organisms (chemical barrier)
- Skin secretes chemicals to kill any surface micro-organisms (physical barrier)
- Stomach contains acid to destroy ingested pathogens (chemical barrier)
3 methods of defence used by white blood cells
- Ingest the pathogen (phagocytosis)
- Produce antibodies
- Produce antitoxins
How to prevent spread of communicable diseases
Good personal hygiene, Separating raw meat, use disinfectant
What is a vector?
Any living organism that can carry a disease-producing virus
What is the vector of malaria?
mosquito
How does vaccination work? (3 points)
- Dead or weakened form of a pathogen is injected into the body
- The immune system recognises the antigen of the pathogen and releases antibodies to fight it. It also remembers the antibody used to destroy the pathogen so it is prepared if the original form enters the body
- Vaccines protect a large number of people creating herd immunity against an infection in an area
MMR vaccine - MMR stands for?
measles, mumps, rubella
Advantages of vaccinations
- Helped to control many common communicable diseases
- Epidemics can be prevented if a large percentage of a population is vaccinated
Disadvantages of vaccinations
- They are not always effective in providing immunity.
- Bad reactions (such as fevers) can occur in response to vaccines (although very rare).
Which pathogen causes malaria?
protist
Examples of non-communicable diseases
Asthma, cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes
Risk factor
Something that increases your chance of
getting a disease.
Incidence
The number of people diagnosed with a
particular disease in a particular population of people at a
particular time.
Prevalence
The number of people who have a particular
condition, regardless of whether they were just diagnosed,
or even whether they’ve been diagnosed at all.
Mortality
The number of deaths per unit of population from a specific disease
