ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE Flashcards
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the sixth to
seventhweeks of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential
knowledge thatwill be laid down in the succeeding pages
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) defines health as a state of
complete physical,mental, and social well-being. A person can be ill to some extent;
however, health can beimproved to live a happier, longer, and more productive and
satisfying lives. The disease can also be influenced by environmental factors such
as the Earth’s climate system by impairing physical and psychological functions.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND TOXICOLOGY
Global Burden of Disease (GBD) is a comprehensive regional and global research
program of disease burden that assesses mortality and disability from major diseases,
injuries, and risk factors. It considers the health, social, political, environmental, and
economic factors to determine the cost that particular disease and disability exert upon
the individual and society. Mortality data is now based on Disability Adjusted Life Years
(DALYs) as a measure of disease burden
GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE (GBD)
Emergent diseases are those not previously known or that have been absent for
at least 20 years. Rapid international travel makes it possible for these new diseases to
spread around the world at jet speed. Epidemiologists warn that the next deadly
epidemic is only a plane ride away.
EMERGENT DISEASE
It is the study of the ecology of infectious diseases. It includes population and
community level studies of the interactions between hosts and their pathogens and
parasites and covers diseases of both humans and wildlife.
ECOLOGICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Ecotoxicology is the study of toxins (poisons) and their effects, particularly on
living systems because many substances are known to be poisonous to life (whether
plant, animal, or microbial). It is a broad field, drawing from biochemistry, histology, pathology, pharmacology, and many other disciplines. Toxin’s damage or kill living
organisms because they react with cellular
components to disrupt metabolic functions. They are harmful even in extremely dilute concentrations. In some cases, billionths, or even trillionths of a gram can cause
irreversible damage.
ECOTOXICOLOGY
are immune-activating agents. act as antigens
directly; that is, white blood cells recognize them as foreign and stimulate the
production of specific antibodies.
Allergens
suppress the immune system. Dead animals contained
high levels of pesticide residues, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other
contaminants that are suspected of disrupting the immune system and making it
susceptible to a variety of opportunistic infections.
Immune System Depressants
