B6 Preventing And Treating Diseases Flashcards
Vaccination
Process when a person is given a weakened or dead form of a virus or bacteria, to help the body build immunity against the disease caused by that pathogen
Why people are vaccinated
Vaccination prevents the spread of disease
How vaccination works
Vaccines contain weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism (antigen) that triggers an immune response within the body
What happens if a large proportion of the population is vaccinated
The spread of pathogen is reduced
What do vaccines contain
Dead or inactive forms of a pathogen
Antibodies (antibody)
Proteins produced by immune system that can recognize and bind to specific antigens and help to neutralize or destroy them
Antigen
Molecules, often proteins, located on the surface of cells that trigger a specific immune response
What are antigens used for
As markers in laboratory tests to identify those tissues or cells
Apply ideas about specificity of antibodies
Can be viewed as a measure of the goodness of fit between the antibody-combining site (paratope) and the corresponding antigenic determinant
Advantages of vaccination
Vaccines have helped control lots of communicable diseases that were once common in the UK (polio, measles, rubella)
Big outbreaks of disease (epidemics) can be prevented if a large percentage of the population is vaccinated
Disadvantages of vaccination
Vaccines don’t always work, sometimes they don’t give you immunity
You can sometimes have a bad reaction to a vaccine
Antibiotic
Substances that slow down or stop the growth of bacteria
How antibiotics work
By killing bacteria or stopping them from multiplying
Which infections cannot be treated with antibiotics
Viral infections
What diseases are antibiotics effective against
Skin infections
Chest infections
Urinary tract infections
Antibiotic resistant bacteria
Bacteria that are not controlled or killed by antibiotics
How antibiotic resistant bacteria arise
Through mutation and selection
Bacteria can develop defense mechanisms against antibiotics
How to decide when a painkiller or antibiotic should be used to treat an illness
Painkillers provide pain relief
Antibiotics eradicate the microbes that cause the infection
Why it is difficult to develop drugs to treat viral infections
Viruses inside cells are harder to target
Why scientists are constantly developing new antibiotics
Over time, certain bacteria, sometimes called ‘superbugs’, have adapted and evolved to resist the effects of the drugs designed to kill the
Painkillers
Drugs to relieve pain
