defending ourselves against infectious diseases Flashcards
what are the microorganisms that cause infectious disease
pathogens
what may bacteria do inside the body
bacteria may reproduce rapidly inside the body and produce poisons (toxins) that make us feel ill
what may viruses do inside the body
viruses may reproduce rapidly inside the body.viruses live and reproduce inside cells, causing damage
how do white blood cells help to defend against pathogens
NAME?
what leads to immunity from a pathogen
the immune system of the body produces specific antibodies to kill a particular pathogen
what greatly reduces the spread of a pathogen
if a large proportion of the population is immune to the pathogen
how can people be immunised against a disease
by introducing small quantities of dead or inactive forms of the pathogen into the body (vaccination)
how do vaccines work
vaccines stimulate the white blood cells to produce antibodies that destroy the pathogen. this makes the person immune to future infections by the microorganism, because the body can respond by rapidly making the correct antibody, in the same way as if the person had previously had the disease
what does the MMR vaccine protect against
the MMR vaccine is used to protect children against measles, mumps and rubella
for vaccinations argument
Vaccines stop individuals becoming ill. If enough people are vaccinated, vaccinations can also stop pathogens infecting whole populations. This is called herd immunity.The chance of falling seriously ill or dying from the disease may be far greater than the chance of experiencing a serious side-effect.using a vaccine may be much cheaper than treating a very ill person.
against vaccines argument
NAME?
what do some medicines such as painkillers do
they help to relieve the symptoms of infectious disease, but do not kill the pathogens
what are antibiotics and give an example
antibiotics, such as penicillin, are medicines that help to cure bacterial disease by killing infective bacteria inside the body
what is important about the use of antibiotics
it is important that specific bacteria should be treated by specific antibiotics
what can antibiotics not kill
viral pathogens
whats difficult about developing drugs that kill viruses
it is difficult to develop drugs that kill viruses without also damaging the body’s tissues
how is a new resistant strain made
mutations of pathogens produce new strains. antibiotics kill individual pathogens of the non-resistant strain but individual pathogens survive and reproduce, so the population of the resistant strain rises. antibiotics and vaccinations may no longer be effective against a new resistant strain of the pathogen. the new strain will then spread rapidly because people are not immune to it and there is no effective treatment
what has increased the rate of development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria
overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics
whats an example of one of the many strains of bacteria that has developed resistance to antibiotics
MRSA
what is done in order to slow down the rate of development of resistant strains
antibiotics are not currently used to treat non-serious infections such as mild throat infections
what does the development of antibiotic-resistant strains mean for pharmaceuticals
it necessitates the development of new antibiotics
what is required for investigating the action of disinfectants and antibiotics
uncontaminated cultures of microorganisms
what needs to be done while using uncontaminated cultures of microorganisms to investigate the action of disinfectants and antibiotics
NAME?
what is the maximum temperature that cultures should be incubated at in school and college laboratories
25 degrees celcius
