Infection and Response Flashcards
Describe Measles
Type of disease: Viral
Spread by: Droplets from sneezes or coughs
Symptoms: Red skin rash, fever
Results: Death, pneumonia (lung infection), encephalitis (brain infection)
Prevention: Vaccination
Describe HIV
Type of disease: Viral, STD
Spread by: Sexual contact, sharing needles (exchange of bodily fluids)
Symptoms: Flu-like symptoms (Initially), no symptoms for couple of years after, damage to immune cells
Results: AIDS, very weak immune system
Treatments: Antiretroviral drugs
Describe Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)
Type of disease: Viral (affects plants)
Symptoms: Mosaic pattern on leaves, leaf discolouration
Results: Reduced amount of photosynthesis
Describe Rose Black Spot
Type: Fungus
Symptoms: Black or purple spots on rose plant leaves, leaves falling off of plant
Results: Reduced amount of photosynthesis, stunted growth
Treatments: Fungicides, removing affected leaves, destroying affected leaves to prevent spreading
Describe Malaria
Type: Protist
Vector: Mosquito
Symptoms: Recurring fever
Prevention: Killing mosquitos, insecticides, mosquito nets
Describe Salmonella
Type: Bacteria
Symptoms: Fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea
Causes: Consuming contaminated food
Prevention: Poultry vaccination
Describe Gonorrhoea
Type: Bacteria, STD
Symptoms: Pain during urination, thick yellow or green discharge from vagina or penis
Prevention: Antibiotics, barrier methods (condoms)
What are ways to reduce the spread of disease?
Being hygienic, destroying vectors, isolating infected individuals, vaccination
In what ways does your body defend itself against pathogens?
The skin acts as a barrier and secretes antimicrobial substances.
Hairs and mucus in your nose, trachea and bronchi trap particles that could contain pathogens.
Cilia in the trachea and bronchi waft the mucus up to the throat where it can be swallowed.
Hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach kills pathogens.
White blood cells produced by the immune system consume/engulf foreign cells (phagocytosis) and produce antibodies and antitoxins.
What are disadvantages of vaccinations?
Vaccinations don’t always work (they don’t give immunity) and can cause a bad reaction.
What are the stages of drug testing?
1) Preclinical testing (human cells and tissue or an organism)
2) Test on live animals (to test efficacy, toxicity and dosage)
3) Clinical trial (human volunteers), first healthy to test side effects, then humans suffering from the disease that the drug is intended to treat to find the optimum dose
4) Results peer reviewed to prevent false claims
How are monoclonal antibodies made?
By fusing B-lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) and a tumour cell to create hybridoma which can be cloned to create identical cells that can produce the same antibodies that bind to a certain molecule. The antibodies can be collected and purified.
How can monoclonal antibodies be used in pregnancy tests?
If you’re pregnant and you wee on a pregnancy test stick:
- The HCG hormone from pregnant female’s urine binds to the antibodies on blue beads attached to the weeing area
- The urine moves up the stick, carrying the hormone and the beads
- The beads and hormones bind to the antibodies on the strip (if you’re pregnant)
- So the blue beads get stuck on the test strip, turning it blue (if you’re pregnant)
How can monoclonal antibodies be used to treat cancer?
Certain monoclonal antibodies attached to an anti-cancer drug will bind to tumour markers (antigens on a cancer cell membrane).
How can monoclonal antibodies be used to identify certain substances?
Monoclonal antibodies that can bind to the intended molecule are attached to a fluorescent dye that makes molecules that are attached to this monoclonal antibody visible.
