Bacterial and viral infections

Question 1

How do measles spread?

Answer 1

Airborne droplets, direct contact

Question 2

Is measles a virus or bacteria?

Answer 2

Virus

Question 3

What are the symptoms of measles?

Answer 3

Rash, fever. Can lead to serious complication like pneumonia and even death.

Question 4

How can you prevent the spread of measles?

Answer 4

Vaccination, isolation of infected people.

Question 5

What treatments are there for measles?

Answer 5

Treatments of symptoms only - ie paracetamol for fever.

Question 6

How does HIV spread?

Answer 6

Direct sexual contact, exchange of body fluids such as blood (for example sharing needles), passed from mother to child in breast milk.

Question 7

What are the symptoms of HIV?

Answer 7

Only causes a mild flu-like illness to begin with.

Question 8

How can you prevent the spread of HIV?

Answer 8

Using condoms, not sharing needles, screening blood used for transfusions, HIV-positive mothers bottle feeding their children.

Question 9

Is there any treatment for HIV?

Answer 9

No cure, no vaccine. Regular use of antiretroviral drugs can prevent the development of AIDS and give HIV-positive people an almost normal life expectancy.

Question 10

How does tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) spread?

Answer 10

Contact between diseased plant material and healthy plants, insects can act as vectors, the virus can remain infectious in the soil for about 50 years.

Question 11

What are the symptoms of TMV?

Answer 11

It causes a distinctive ‘mosaic’ pattern of discolouration on the leaves as the virus destroys the cells. It affects the growth of the plant because the affected areas of the leaf do not photosynthesise.

Question 12

How can the spread of TMV be prevented?

Answer 12

Good field hygiene and good pest control. Farmers now grow TMV resistant strains of many crop plants.

Question 13

Is there treatment for TMV?

Answer 13

There is no treatment for TMV.

Question 14

How does salmonella spread?

Answer 14

Eating undercooked food (bacteria has not been killed by heating), eating food prepared in unhygienic conditions.

Question 15

What are the symptoms of salmonella? How long does it take for them to develop?

Answer 15

Usually develop within 8-72 hours of eating infected food. Symptoms: abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea. Can be fatal in very young children and elderly. More serious in countries with high rates of malnutrition.

Question 16

How can you prevent the spread of salmonella?

Answer 16

Keeping raw meat away from food that is eaten uncooked, avoid washing chicken (it sprays bacteria around the kitchen), wash hands and surfaces well after handling raw meat and cook it thoroughly, vaccinate chickens.

Question 17

Is there any treatment for salmonella?

Answer 17

Antibiotics but they are usually not given because the symptoms go away after a few days.

Question 18

How does gonorrhoea spread?

Answer 18

Unprotected sexual contact with an infected person.

Question 19

What are the short term symptoms of gonorrhoea?

Answer 19

Thick yellow or green discharge from genitals and pain during urination.

Question 20

If left untreated, what long term effects can gonorrhoea have on someone?

Answer 20

Long-term pelvic pain, infertility, ectopic pregnancies, babies born to infected mothers may have severe eye infections and may even become blind.

Question 21

Why do antibiotics only work on bacteria?

Answer 21

They break down the bacterial cell wall. The bacteria cell unravels. It doesn’t affect our cells because human cells don’t have a cell wall.