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Communicable Disease Flashcards

1
Q

What is a pathogen?

A

A microorganism that enters the body and causes disease

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2
Q

Bacteria:

A

Very small cells which can reproduce rapidly due to binary fission

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3
Q

How does bacteria make you feel ill?

A

They produce toxins that damage cells and tissues and make you feel ill

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4
Q

Which are smaller, viruses or bacteria?

A

Viruses

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5
Q

How do viruses make you feel ill?

A

Viruses live inside cells and produce many copies of itself using the cell’s machinery. Eventually the cell will burst releasing all the new viruses.
Cell damage is what makes you feel ill

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6
Q

What are protists?

A
  • eukaryotes
  • some are parasites (use organisms as their host -> live on or in them) which causes damage
  • often transferred by a vector
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7
Q

What is a vector?

A

A living organism that transmits a parasite from an infected animal to a human or another animal

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8
Q

How can pathogens be spread?

A
  • through water (drinking or coming into contact with dirty water can pick up pathogens)
  • direct contact (touching contaminated surfaces e.g. kissing, skin to skin, bodily fluids)
  • air (pathogens can be carried in the air and then breathed in. Some airborne pathogens are carried in air in droplets when you cough or sneeze)
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9
Q

What type of disease is measles?

A

A viral disease

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10
Q

How is measles spread?

A

Droplets from an infected persons sneeze or cough

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11
Q

What are the symptoms of measles?

A

Fever
Red skin rash
Can lead to more serious problems e.g. pneumonia and blindness

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12
Q

How is measles prevented?

A

Most people are vaccinated when they are young

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13
Q

What type of disease is HIV?

A

A virus

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14
Q

How is HIV spread?

A

Sexual contact or exchange of bodily fluids like blood

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15
Q

What are the symptoms of HIV?

A

Initially flu-like symptoms but then after a few years the virus attacks the immune system and leads to aids (making the body more susceptible ti many diseases)

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16
Q

How is HIV prevented?

A

Preventing the spread -> condoms, not sharing needles, screening blood in transfusions
Preventing the development of aids -> use of antiretroviral drugs (stops virus replicating in the blood)

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17
Q

What type of disease is tobacco mosaic virus? 🤔🤔

A

Virus disease affecting many species of plant

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18
Q

How is tobacco mosaic virus spread?

A

Contact between diseased plants and healthy plants

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19
Q

What are symptoms of tobacco mosaic virus?

A

Discolouration of leaves meaning leaf can’t carry out photosynthesis as well so virus affects growth of plant

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20
Q

How is tobacco mosaic virus prevented?

A

Good field hygiene
Pest control
Growing TMV resistant strains

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21
Q

What type of disease is rose black spot?

A

A fungus

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22
Q

How is rose black spot spread?

A

Through the environment in the water or wind

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23
Q

What are the symptoms of rose black spot?

A
  • Purple or black spots on leaves of rose plants
  • leaves turn yellow and drop early
  • reduces area of the leaf available for photosynthesis
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24
Q

How is rose black spot prevented?

A

Stripping the plant of effected leaves (need to be burnt/destroyed so the fungus can’t spread)

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25
What type of disease is malaria?
Caused by a protist pathogens that enter the red blood cells and damage them
26
How is malaria spread?
By a vector - a female mosquito Every time the vector feeds on an animal, the protists enter the animal’s bloodstream
27
What are the symptoms of malaria?
Fevers and shaking (could be fatal)
28
How is malaria prevented?
Stopping the mosquitoes from breeding Insecticides Mosquito nets
29
What is salmonella?
A type of bacteria that causes food poisoning
30
How is salmonella spread?
Eating food contaminated with the virus (e.g. a chicken that caught the disease when it was alive)
31
What are the symptoms of salmonella?
Fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea
32
How is salmonella prevented?
- Poultry are vaccinated against salmonella - keeping raw meat away from cooked meat - cook food thoroughly
33
What is gonorrhoea?
A sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria
34
What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?
- pain when urinating - yellow/green discharge from vagina or penis
35
How is gonorrhoea prevented?
Using barrier methods of contraception Can be treated with antibiotics
36
What are non-specific defence systems?
They prevent pathogens from entering the body
37
How do hair and mucus in the nose prevent pathogens from entering the body?
They trap particles that could contain pathogens
38
How does the stomach act as a non-specific defence system?
Produces hydrochloric acid which kills pathogens that have made it that far
39
What does the immune system do?
- Kills pathogens that have entered the body - prevents the pathogen from reproducing and destroy it
40
What is the most important part of the immune system?
White blood cells
41
What do phagocytes do?
Phagocytosis
42
What do lymphocytes do?
Produce antibodies and antitoxins
43
Explain the method of phagocytosis
1) antibodies cause agglutination of pathogens 2) phagocytes engulf the pathogen by surrounding it 3) phagocytes release enzymes to digest and break the pathogen down to destroy it
44
Explain the production of antibodies
- lymphocytes produce antibodies which is specific to the antigens on the pathogen - it takes days to make antibodies that are specific to the pathogen so the individual suffers from symptoms - memory cells are produced after infection
45
What do memory cells do?
In subsequent exposure to the same pathogen, memory cells produce antibodies much quicker before the pathogen number increases. The individual may not suffer from symptoms
46
What are antitoxins?
Produced by lymphocytes and neutralise toxins produced by pathogens
47
What is active immunity?
Antibodies created by the body due to exposure to the disease or by vaccination
48
What is passive immunity? 🥛
Antibodies that are not created by the body. They come from antibodies given to you from another organism e.g. through breast milk
49
What is a vaccine?
A weakened form of a pathogen
50
How do vaccinations work?
1) The body is exposed to a weakened form of a pathogen 2) this triggers the specific immune response - white blood cells are stimulated to produce antibodies and memory cells 3) for subsequent exposure to the same pathogen, memory cells can produce specific antibodies to kill the pathogen 4) Pathogens do not produce a large enough population to cause disease
51
PROS of vaccinations
- epidemics (big outbreaks of disease) can be prevented is a large % of population is vaccinated - vaccines have helped control lots of communicable diseases that were once common
52
CONS of vaccinations
- do not always work - sometimes they don’t give you immunity - you can sometimes show a bad reaction to the vaccine (e.g. Covid jab has side effects)
53
What is herd immunity?
If a large number of the population are vaccinated, it is unlikely that an unvaccinated individual will become infected with the pathogen
54
What are painkillers?
Drugs that relieve pain but they don’t tackle the cause of the disease or kills pathogens
55
What are antibiotics?
They kill/prevent the growth of the bacteria causing the problem without killing your own body cells DO NOT KILL VIRUSES
56
Explain how antibiotic resistant occurs?
1) A mutation occurs so some bacteria are antibiotic resistant whilst some are not 2) when the population of bacteria is treated with this antibiotic, the resistant bacteria do not die. They survive and reproduce 3) They pass on their antibiotic resistant genes to their offspring 4) over time, the whole population of bacteria becomes antibiotic resistant
57
What is the first stage of drug testing?
Preclinical testing - drugs are tested on human cells + tissues. Animals must be used in drugs that effect the whole body
58
What comes after preclinical testing in drug testing?
Testing on live animals
59
What does testing drugs on live animals test?
Efficacy (if the drug works) Find out about toxicity (how harmful it is) Find the best dosage
60
What comes after animal testing when drug testing?
Testing on human volunteers
61
What does drug testing on human volunteers check for?
- It ensures that there’s no harmful side effects ( a very low dose is used) - it’s tested with a placebo to see how well the drug works - the optimum dose is found
62
Why are healthy volunteers used first in drug testing?
They have a better immune system
63
Why are results of drug trials peer reviewed?
The results aren’t published until they have been peer reviewed to prevent false claims

Biology (10 decks)

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