Health, Disease, Defence Mechanisms and Treatments Flashcards
What is health?
Health is being free from communicable and non-communicable disease.
What do diseases do to society?
The presence of disease has an effect on society, as unhealthy people may not be able to work and require care.
The NHS spends billions of pounds per year treating and looking after sick people.
Most of the NHS budget is spent on medicine and the salaries of doctors and nurses.
What type of disease is HIV, how does it spread and how do you control/prevent/treat it?
HIV is a virus.
It spreads by the exchange of bodily fluids during sex and by infected blood.
Using a condom will reduce risk of infection, as will drug addicts not sharing needles.
No cure but is currently controlled by drugs.
What type of disease is cold/flu, how does it spread and how do you control/prevent/treat it?
They are viruses.
They are airborne (droplet infection).
There is a flu vaccination for targeted groups.
What type of disease is Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), how is it spread and how it is controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a virus.
It is spread by sexual contact.
HPV vaccine is offered to 12-13 year old girls to protect against developing cervical cancer.
What type of virus is Salmonella, how is it spread and how is it controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a bacteria.
It is spread from contaminated food.
Always cook food thoroughly and do not mix cooked and uncooked foods, this can control spread.
Treatment by antibiotics.
What type of disease is Tuberculosis, how is it spread and how is it controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a bacteria.
It is airborne (droplet infection).
If contracted, treated with drugs including antibiotics.
What type of disease is chlamydia, how is it spread and how is it controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a bacteria.
It is spread by sexual contact.
Using a condom will reduce risk of infection.
It is treated by antibiotics.
What type of disease is Athlete’s foot, how is it spread and how is it controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a fungus.
It is spread by contact.
To reduce infection risk, avoid direct contact in areas where spores are likely to be present, e.g. wear ‘flip flops’ in changing rooms/ swimming pools.
What type of disease is Potato blight, how is it spread and how is it controlled/prevented/treated?
It is a fungus.
Spores spread in the air from plant to plant especially in humid and warm conditions.
Crop rotation and spraying plants with fungicide can prevent it.
What are Aseptic techniques?
Aseptic techniques ensure the microorganisms being investigated do not escape or become contaminated with an unwanted microorganism.
The growth of unwanted,
pathogenic microorganisms are also prevented.
What are some Aseptic techniques?
No eating or drinking in the lab.
Wiping bench with disinfectant/alcohol.
Not growing microorganisms at body temperature.
Using sterile loops when transferring
cultures.
Flaming culture bottle necks to prevent contamination.
Sterilising (using an autoclave) or disposing of all used equipment.
Washing hands thoroughly.
What are the steps in aseptic techniques to grow uncontaminated
colonies of bacteria in nutrient broth or on an agar
plate?
1.Complete the procedure with a Bunsen burner on the bench to kill airborne microorganisms.
2.Pass a metal loop through the flame to sterilise it.
3.Allow the metal loop to cool to prevent any microorganism it touches being killed.
4.Remove the culture bottle lid and sweep the neck of the bottle through the flame to sterilise it.
5.Glide the metal loop through the bacterial culture. This will inoculate the metal loop with bacteria.
6.Sweep the neck of the bottle through the flame to sterilise it again.
7.Replace the culture bottle lid to prevent contamination.
8.Partially lift the Petri dish lid to prevent the entry of unwanted airborne microorganisms.
9.Gently glide the inoculated metal loop over the surface of the nutrient agar (agar enriched with nutrients and minerals essential for bacterial growth). This is known as plating.
10.Pass the metal loop through the flame again to sterilise it.
11.Tape the Petri dish lid on.
12.Incubate at 25°C – below body temperature to ensure pathogenic microorganisms do not grow. Incubate upside down to avoid condensation dripping on the bacteria.
Afterwards, clean work surfaces and hands and safely dispose of bacterial cultures by autoclaving.
What does mucus do?
Your air passages have cells that make mucus. This is a sticky slime that traps dust and microbes in the air that we breathe in. Tiny hairs called cilia move to and fro, pushing the mucus up to your throat where it is swallowed.
What does your skin do to protect you?
The dead, outer layer of your skin forms a barrier to pathogens.
