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Question 1

1. How do vaccinations provide protection from microorganisms?

Answer 1

By establishing memory cells that produce antibodies quickly on reinfection, so normally the disease causing microorganisms are killed off before symptoms show

Question 2

2. What do vaccines contain?

Answer 2

A vaccine usually contains a safe form of a disease-causing microorganism, for example that is dead or inactive

Question 3

3. What is an epidemic?

Answer 3

An epidemic is a large outbreak of disease

Question 4

3. Why, to prevent epidemics of infectious diseases, it is necessary to vaccinate a high percentage of a population?

Answer 4

Because if most people are vaccinated, even people who aren’t are unlikely to catch the disease as there are fewer people to pass it on.

Question 5

3. What will happen if lots of the population aren’t vaccinated?

Answer 5

If lots of people aren’t vaccinated, disease can spread quickly between them and can result in lots of people being ill at the same time

Question 6

4. Are vaccines and drugs (medicines) completely risk-free?

Answer 6

Medicines can never be completely risk-free, since individuals have varying degrees of side effects to them. More serious side effects however may be less common.

Question 7

5. Why do people react differently to drugs and vaccines? What is an example?

Answer 7

People react differently to drugs and vaccines due to genetic differences.
For example in anaesthetics genetics can alter the time that the patient is affected by it.

Question 8

6. What are antimicrobials?

Answer 8

Antimicrobials are chemicals that inhibit the growth of microorganisms or kill them without seriously damaging body cells

Question 9

6. What can antimicrobials be used against?

Answer 9

Bacteria, fungi and viruses

Question 10

6. What are antimicrobials useful for?

Answer 10

They are useful for clearing up infections your immune system is having trouble with.

Question 11

7. What are antibiotics?

Answer 11

A type of antimicrobial that is effective against bacteria but not viruses

Question 12

8. What may happen to bacteria and fungi over a period of time regarding antimicrocials?

Answer 12

Over a period of time bacteria and fungi may become resistant to antimicrobials

Question 13

8. How do bacteria and fungi become resistant to antimicrobials?

Answer 13

Random mutations in their DNA may make them less affected by a certain antimicrobial, so it can survive for longer and reproduce more. This means this resistant gene is passed on more through natural selection so resistance becomes more common over a period of time.

Question 14

9. What can random changes (mutations) in the genes of these microorganisms sometimes lead to?

Answer 14

They can sometimes lead to varieties which are less affected by antimicrobials

Question 15

10. How can we reduce antibiotic resistance?

Answer 15

Only use antibiotics when necessary

Always complete the course

Question 16

10. Why does only using antibiotics when necessary help reduce antibiotic resistance?

Answer 16

• The more antibiotics are used, the bigger the problem of antibiotic resistance becomes
• antibiotics create a situation where naturally resistant bacteria have an advantage so they increase in numbers

Question 17

10. Why does always completing the course help reduce antibiotic resistance?

Answer 17

• some people stop the course when they feel better, not when the course finishes
• this increases number of resistant bacteria as some bacteria will be left and free to mutate

Question 18

11. How are new drugs and vaccines first tested for safety?

Answer 18

Animal testing

Human cell testing

Question 19

11. How is animal testing done and what does it test?

Answer 19

• tested on two different species of mammal before given to humans
• e.g. mice and monkeys

-many mammals have similar systems to humans so the test gives early indications on effects on humans

Question 20

11. How is human cell testing done and what does it test?

Answer 20

• product is tested on human cells grown in a laboratory

- this measures the effect on real human cells, although not in a whole system

Question 21

11. What may then be carried out after animal and human cell testing?

Answer 21

Human trials

Question 22

12. Who may human trials be carried out on?

Answer 22

Healthy people

People with the illness

Question 23

12. Why are human trials carried out on healthy people?

Answer 23

• tested first as less vulnerable to damage

-to test for safety
To make sure that it has no harmful effects when the body is working normally

Question 24

12. Why are human trials carried out on people with the illness?

Answer 24

• second

- to test for safety and effectiveness

Question 25

13. What are the 3 different types of human trials?

Answer 25

• Open-label
• Blind
• Double-blind

Question 26

13. What is an Open-label human trial and why is it used?

Answer 26

• Both patient and doctor know

- Used when you can’t hide the treatment being tested

Question 27

13. What is a Blind human trial and why is it used?

Answer 27

• Patient doesn’t know

- To eliminate psychological effects on the patents behalf

Question 28

13. What is a Double-blind human trial and why is it used?

Answer 28

• Both patient and doctor don’t know
• To eliminate psychological effects on the patents behalf
• to eliminate scientists monitoring/analysing patients data being subconsciously influenced

Question 29

14. What is the importance of long-term human trials?

Answer 29

• the drug might take a while to have an effect

- the drug may have side effects that take a while to show

Question 30

15. What are placebos?

Answer 30

Placebos are a ‘fake’ version of the drug

Question 31

15. Why are placebos used?

Answer 31

It is easier to identify if the real drug is actually effective, or has side effects

Question 32

15. What are the ethical issues related to using placebos in human trials?

Answer 32

It is unethical to use placebos on a seriously ill person as they won’t get the potential benefits of the drug.