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A level OCR Biology > Communicable diseases, disease prevention and the immune system > Flashcards

Communicable diseases, disease prevention and the immune system Flashcards

1
Q

Define communicable disease

A

Can be passed from one organism to another between individuals of the same of different species

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2
Q

Define pathogen

A

Disease-causing microbes/microorganisms

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3
Q

Define disease vector

A

Any agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another organism

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4
Q

What can be a vector?

A
  • Organisms

- Inanimate medium

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5
Q

Give two examples of an inanimate medium that can be a vector

A
  • Water

- Dust particles

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6
Q

List the types of pathogen

A
  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Bacteriophages
  • Protoctista (Protists)
  • Fungi
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7
Q

How many bacteria are pathogenic?

A

A small number of thousands of bacterial species are pathogenic

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8
Q

Are bacteria eukaryotes?

A

No, their prokaryotes

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9
Q

How can you classify bacteria?

A

By shapes

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10
Q

What are the main types of bacteria?

A
  • Spheres (cocci)
  • Rods (bacilli)
  • Spirals
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11
Q

Give three examples of sphere/cocci bacteria

A
  • Diplococci
  • Streptococci
  • Tetrad
  • Staphylococci
  • Sarcina
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12
Q

Give three examples of rods/bacilli bacteria

A
  • Chain of bacilli
  • Flagellate rods
  • Spore-former
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13
Q

Give three examples of spiral bacteria

A
  • Vibrios
  • Spirilla
  • Spirochaetes
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14
Q

What is the cell wall structure of bacteria?

A

Two main types of cell wall that react differently to Gram staining

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15
Q

What are viruses?

A

Non-living infectious agents

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16
Q

How much smaller are viruses compared to bacteria?

A

50x

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17
Q

How many viruses are pathogenic?

A

All of them

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18
Q

What is the structure of a virus?

A

Basic structure of some genetic material (DNA or RNA) that is surrounded by protein

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19
Q

What are bacteriophages?

A

Viruses that attack bacteria

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20
Q

How do bacteriophages attack bacteria?

A

They take over the cell and use them to replicate, killing the bacteria in process

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21
Q

Are protoctista (protista) eukaryotic organisms?

A

Yes

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22
Q

How many protoctista (protista) are pathogenic?

A

A small percentage

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23
Q

What do protoctista (protista) cause?

A

Communicable disease in plants and animals

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24
Q

Protists that cause disease are…

A

Parasitic

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25
Q

What may protists need to transfer to their hosts?

A

Vectors

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26
Q

Give an example of diseases that are caused by protists

A
  • Malaria

- Sleeping sickness

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27
Q

Which protist causes sleeping sickness?

A

Trypanosoma

28
Q

What is the vector for trypanosoma?

A

Tsetse flies

29
Q

Fungi are not usually problematic in animals but the can be … in plants

30
Q

Are fungi prokaryotes?

A

No, they are eykaryotes

31
Q

Are fungi multicellular or unicellular?

A

Frequently multicellular, but occasionally unicellular

32
Q

Give an example of a unicellular fungi?

33
Q

As fungi cannot photosynthesise, how do they get what nutrients they need?

A

They absorb nutrients from their environment after releasing digestive enzymes

34
Q

What are most fungi (other than multicellular)?

A

Saprophytes

35
Q

What are saprophytes?

A

They feed on dead and decaying matter

36
Q

Some fungi are this (not unicellular)

37
Q

What do parasitic fungi feed on?

A

Plants and animals

38
Q

The fungi that are parasitic are?

A

Pathogenic and can cause communicable diseases

39
Q

What do fungi often attack?

A

The leaves of plants, stopping them photosynthesising

40
Q

What do fungi produce?

41
Q

How do fungi infect? What is their mode of infection?

A

Spores that can spread huge distances and through crop plants rapidly

42
Q

What are the two modes of action?

A
  • Damaging the host tissues directly

- Producing toxins which damage host tissue

43
Q

What causes symptoms?

A

The damage and the way in which the body of the host responds to the damage

44
Q

How do viruses cause symptoms, using the mode of action: damaging the host tissues directly?

A
  • Take over the cell metabolism
  • The viral genetic material gets into the host cell and is inserted into the hosts’ DNA
  • The virus then uses the host cell to make new viruses which then burst out of the cell, destroying it
  • Then it spreads to infect other cells
45
Q

How do some protoctista (protists) cause symptoms, using the mode of action: damaging the host tissues directly?

A
  • Take over cells and break them open as the new generation emerges
  • BUT they do not take over the genetic material of the cell
  • They simply digest and use the cell contents as they reproduce
  • Protists that cause malaria are an example of this
46
Q

How do fungi cause symptoms, using the mode of action: damaging the host tissues directly?

A
  • Digest living cells and destroy them
47
Q

How do bacteria cause symptoms, using the mode of action: producing toxins which damage host tissue?

A
  • Most bacteria produce toxins that poison or damage the host cells in some way, causing disease
  • Some bacterial toxins damage the host cells by breaking down the cell membranes
  • Some bacterial toxins damage or inactivate enzymes
  • Some bacterial toxins interfere with the host cell’s genetic material so the cell cannot divide
    - These toxins are a by-product of the normal
    functioning of the bacteria
48
Q

Do fungi use the mode of action: producing toxins which damage host tissue?

A

Yes, some fungi produce toxins which affect the hosts cells and cause disease

49
Q

What are some abiotic environmental factors?

A
  • Wind
  • Water
  • Inhalation of spores
  • Entry into skin
50
Q

What are some animal vectors?

A
  • Mosquitoes (malaria, dengue)

- Fleas (bubonic plague)

51
Q

With human-to-human transmission, why does direct contact mode of transmission work?

A

Pathogen survives best inside the body

52
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the mode of transmission: direct contact in human-to-human transmission

A
  • HIV
  • Herpes-viruses
  • Ebola
53
Q

With human-to-human transmission, why does indirect contact mode of transmission work

A

Pathogen survives in harsh environments

Can pick up the pathogen from surface or air

54
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the mode of transmission: indirect contact in human-to-human transmission

A
  • Influenza

- Norovirus

55
Q

With human-to-human transmission, why does the mode of transmission: droplets work (but not very well)?

A

Pathogens are in droplets but do not survive long this way

56
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the mode of transmission: droplets in human-to-human transmission

A
  • Ebola

- Bordetella pertussis

57
Q

With human-to-human transmission, why does airborne mode of transmission work?

A

Pathogens are aerosolised and stay infectious

58
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by airborne in human-to-human transmission

A
  • Influenza

- Tuberculosis

59
Q

With human-to-human transmission, how does fecal-oral mode of transmission work?

A

Through contaminated food or water

60
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the mode of transmission: fecal-oral

A
  • Cholera
  • Norovirus
  • Shigella
61
Q

What are examples of direct contact in direct transmission in animals?

A
  • Kissing and body fluids
  • Direct skin-to-skin contact
  • Microorganisms from faeces transmitted on hands
62
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the direct transmission in animals: direct contact (kissing and body fluids)

A
  • Bacterial meningitis

- STDs, i.e. HPV (14 million cases annually

63
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the direct transmission in animals: direct contact (direct skin-to-skin contact)

A
  • Ringworm

- Athletes foot

64
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the direct transmission in animals: direct contact (Microorganisms from faeces transmitted on hands)

A
  • Diarrhoeal disease
65
Q

What are examples of inoculation in direct transmission in animals?

A
  • Break in the skin
  • Animal bites
  • Puncture would or shared needles
66
Q

Give examples of diseases caused by the direct transmission in animals: inoculation (break in the skin)

A level OCR Biology (7 decks)

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