Chapter 8 Flashcards
What is an emergent disease?
A disease that is not previously known, or one which has been absent for at least 20 years.
What is BPA and where it is found? How does it harm humans(and animals)?
- BPA is Bisphenol A. Found in baby bottles, automobile headlights, eyeglass lenses, CDs, DVDs, water pipes, the linings of cans(for canned food) and bottles, and tooth-protecting sealants.
- Epidemiological studies in humans show a correlation between urine concentrations of BPA and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver-enzyme abnormalities. Can also cause reproductive problems
Please define Morbidity, and mortality.
- Morbidity: Illness
* Mortality: Death
What are MRSA and DDT, and how do they harm humans?
- MRSA is “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus”. It can cause deadly infections, and is resistant to penicillin and related antibiotics (such as methicillin).
- DDT It is a persistent insecticide that does not break down readily in the environment. Disrupts nerve cell membranes necessary for nerve action
What is CERCLA and what is its purpose?
•CERCLA is “The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act”. This law created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment.
Define :
- Allergens,
- Endocrine disrupters,
- Mutagens,
- Neurotoxins,
- Teratogens.
- Allergens - substances that activate the immune system
- Endocrine Disrupters - disrupt normal hormone functions.
- Mutagens - Agents that damage or alter genetic material. Can lead to birth defects or tumors.
- Neurotoxins - metabolic poisons that specifically attack nerve cells; most are extremely toxic and fast acting.
- Teratogens - specifically cause abnormalities during embryonic growth and development
Differentiate between bioaccumulation and biomagnifications
- Bioaccumulation : selective absorption and storage of toxins. Dilute toxins in the environment can build to dangerous levels inside tissues.
- Biomagnification: - Toxic burden of a large number of organisms at a lower trophic level is accumulated and concentrated by a predator at a higher trophic level. Example: DDT
What are POPs, and provide examples.
Persistent Organic Pollutants: DDT, PFOS, OFOA, Atrazine
PFOS are members of a chemical family used to make Nonstick, waterproof, and stain-resistant products such as Teflon
What does LD50 stand for?
LD50 - dose at which 50% of the animal test population dies
What is Environmental Health?
It focuses on external factors that cause disease, including elements of the natural, social, cultural and technological worlds in which we live.
What are Ecological Diseases?
When domestic animals and wildlife experience sudden and widespread epidemics.
What is Conservation Medicine?
An emerging discipline that attempts to understand how our environmental changes threaten our own health as well as that of the natural communities on which we depend for ecological services.
How does antibiotic resistance arise?
Random mutations make a few cells resistant. When challenged by antibiotics, only those cells survive to give rise to a resistant colony.
What is Synergism
An interaction in which one substance exacerbates the effects of another.
What are Acute Effects?
Acute Effects are caused by a single exposure to the toxin and result in an immediate health crisis of some sort.
