Chapter 17 - Health and Risk Flashcards
Infectious disease
A disease caused by a pathogen.
Chronic disease
A disease that slowly impairs the functioning of an organism.
Acute disease
A disease that rapidly impairs the functioning of an organism.
Epidemic
A situation in which a pathogen causes a rapid increase in disease.
Plague
An infectious disease caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) that is carried by fleas.
Malaria
caused by infection form any one of species of protist in the genus Plasmodium… one stage of life in mosquito another in human.
Tuberculosis
A highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that primarily infects the lungs.
HIV/AIDs
- HIV - 1983 Discovered weak immune system was caused by previously unknown virus now HIV
- AIDS- rare types of pneumonia, cancer began appearing 1970s
- spread through sexual contact and drug users sharing needles
Ebola
- high death rate
- no cure
- fever, vomiting, internal external bleeding
- not reached epidemic yet
Mad Cow disease
A disease in which prions mutate into deadly pathogens and slowly damage a cow’s nervous system.
Bird Flu
A type of flu caused by the H5N1 virus.
West Nile Virus
A virus that lives in hundreds of species of birds and is transmitted among birds by mosquitoes.
Emergent Infectious disease
An infectious disease that has not been previously described or has not been common for at least 20 years.
Toxicology
The study of the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and other organisms.
Neurotoxin
A chemical that disrupts the nervous systems of animals.
Carcinogen
A chemical that causes cancer.
Mutagen
A type of carcinogen that causes damage to the genetic material of a cell.
Teratogen
A chemical that interferes with the normal development of embryos or fetuses.
Allergen
A chemical that causes allergic reactions.
Endocrine disruptor
A chemical that interferes with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal’s body.
Dose-response study
A study that exposes organisms to different amounts of a chemical and then observes a variety of possible responses, including mortality or changes in behavior or reproduction.
Dose-response curve
Shows effects of various doses of a toxic agent on a group of test organisms, requires a controlled experiment (test group versus control group)
LD50
The lethal dose of a chemical that kills 50 percent of the individuals in a dose-response study
ED50
The effective dose of a chemical that causes 50 percent of the individuals in a dose-response study to display a harmful, but nonlethal, effect.
Toxic-Substance Control act of 1976
Gives the EPA the authority to regulate many chemicals.
- Regulation of food, cosmetics, and pesticides are not regulated by this Act.
Synergistic interaction (also called synergy)
A situation in which two risks together cause more harm than expected based on the separate effects of each risk alone.
Biomagnification
The increase in chemical concentration in animal tissues as the chemical moves up the food chain.
Persistence
The length of time a chemical remains in the environment.
Risk assessment
use of data, hypotheses, and models to estimate risk caused by a certain hazard
Seeks to identify a potential hazard and determine the magnitude of the potential hazard.
- Qualitative Risk Assessment: Refers to the judgment one makes based on one’s perception. Perception of risk can be really different from the actual risk.
- Quantitative Risk Assessment:
Risk = Probability of being exposed to a hazard x Probability of being harmed if exposed. (Ex. Peanut butter/Airplane crash)
Risk acceptance
The level of the risk that can be tolerated.
- MOST DIFFICULT OF THREE STEPS
- Some people are just willing to live with some risk in their lives, so the precise amount of acceptable risk is open to heated disagreements. Personal preferences complicate it.
Risk management
integrates the assessment of risk with technical, legal, political, social, and economic issues
Seeks to balance possible harm against other considerations.
- Regulatory activity usually carried out by local, national, or international government agencies.
- Ex. Regulation of arsenic
Precautionary principle
A principle based on the belief that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard.
Stockholm convention
A 2001 agreement among 127 nations concerning 12 chemicals to be banned, phased out, or reduced.
NOEL (no observable effect level)
When chemical intake does not show observable side effects.
- Usually a chronic study.
