Communicable Disease Flashcards
Give an example of a pathogen
Bacteria, virus or fungi
Do all bacteria cause disease?
No, some are useful e.g. gut bacteria
Do all viruses cause disease?
Yes
Do all fungi cause disease?
No, some are useful e.g. yeast in bread making
What type of microorganism causes measles
Virus
What type of microorganism causes HIV?
Virus
What type of microorganism causes salmonella?
Bacteria
What type of microorganism causes gonorrhoea?
Bacteria
Can measles be treated with antibiotics?
No, it is caused by a virus
Which is bigger, a bacteria or a virus?
Bacteria
How can gonorrhoea be prevented?
Avoiding unprotected sex
What is meant by a disease that is communicable?
A disease that can be spread between living things
How can pathogens be spread?
By air, direct contact and water
How can you sterile an inoculating loop when culturing bacteria?
Heat (in a Bunsen burner)
Why do we avoid incubating bacterial cultures at 37C in school?
To avoid the fast growth of bacteria at body temperature
Why do we not seal agar plates containing bacteria all the way round?
To allow oxygen to enter the plate and aerobic bacteria to grow
What is a pathogen
A microorganism, bacteria, virus or fungi, that causes disease
What type of drugs kill bacteria?
Antibiotics
Do antibiotics kill viruses?
No
Why do antibiotics not treat viruses?
Viruses have no cell wall
What conclusion did Semmelweis make about preventing the spread of infections
Hand washing is essential
What is in a vaccine?
Dead or weakened pathogens
What type of organism causes malaria?
Protist
What is the most effective prevention against malaria?
Mosquito net
How is malaria passed from person to person?
Mosquito bites
How does your body prevent pathogens from entering it?
Skin
Nasal hair and mucus
Cilia in the trachea
Acid in the stomach
List three ways in which your white blood cells destroy pathogens
Phagocytosis
Production of antibodies
Production of antitoxins
What type of cell produce antibodies
White blood cells
What does your stomach produce to destroy microorganisms?
Acid
What is your trachea covered in to trap microorganisms?
Cilia
What is found on the surface of pathogens that provokes an immune response?
Antigens
Why don’t vaccines make you ill?
The pathogen is dead or weakened
What are painkillers used for?
To reduce pain
Can painkillers be used to treat a communicable disease?
No
Who discovers penicillin?
Sir Alexander Fleming
What type of drug is penicillin?
Antibiotic
How do antibiotics work?
Destroy bacterial cell walls
Prevent DNA replication
Prevent protein synthesis
What is a placebo
A dummy pill used in drug trials to compare the effects of a drug to
What is a double blind trial?
A drug trial that compares a drug to a placebo in which neither the patient or the medical staff know who has which one
What does efficacy mean?
Effectiveness
What is meant by toxicity?
Poisonousness, side effects
