B5 - communicable diseases Flashcards
What can make you more susceptible to disease
Weight, bad diet, taking substances etc
What is the difference between a communicable and non-communicable disease
Communicable can be spread between people, non communicable is genetic
What is a microorganism
An organism that can only be seen with a microscope
What is a pathogen
An organism that causes disease to it’s host
What things can be pathogens
Bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists
What is a bacteria
A single celled organism with no nucleus that can divide quickly
What is a virus
A regular shaped “organism” that reproduces when in another living cell
What is a fungus
A single celled organism like yeast or a multicellular organism like a mushroom
Why do all viruses cause disease
They have to invade a living cell in order to reproduce, and force the cell to stop its normal job to instead produce copies of the virus
Why can bacteria be pathogens
They can produce toxins
Why do we culture bacteria
To study them
Why do you need to be careful when studying bacteria
They could mutate and form a new dangerous pathogen
What kills bacteria
High temperatures, disinfectant, antiseptic, antibiotic
What is the zone of inhibition
The area where an antibiotic kills all bacteria
Who was Ignaz Semmelweiss
Doctor in 1800s who introduced hand washing in hospitals
How is malaria caused
A mosquito bites a human and releases malaria protists into their blood, which damage the liver and cause blood cells to help them reproduce, then when another mosquito bites the human they get the protist with the blood.
What is phagocytosis
Where white blood cells ingest microbes and kill them with enzymes
How to antibodies work
A white blood cell releases them, and if they bump into the microbe they attach to the antigens (all enzymes), then release a chemical to attract other white blood cells to do phagocytosis on it.
What are antitoxins
Chemicals which stop toxins from working
Why do you get ill longer the first time you encounter a pathogen
Your body doesn’t know which antibodies attach to the pathogen’s antigens, but the next time you already have the antibodies in your blood so it is quicker to fight off
What defences do plants have against disease
Cellulose cell wall, waxy cuticle, bark, hairiness
