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Infectious Diseases Flashcards

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1
Q

What are infectious diseases?

A

Diseases that are caused by invasion by a pathogen and can be passed from one organism to another. Pathogen- a disease causing agent

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2
Q

What are zoonoses?

A
  • infectious diseases of animals that can naturally be transmitted to humans.
  • Greek: zoon “animal” and nosos “sickness”
  • Eg, E. coli,
  • Viruses- HIV, Ebola (bats), rabies, Hendra virus, swine flu, bird flu, COVID-19
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3
Q

Disease Phases:

A
  1. Infection
  2. Incubation period- time from infection until symptoms appear
  3. Disease-showing symptoms
    * Latent period- time between infection and being infectious
    * Period of communicability (Infectious)- when infection can be passed to others, doesn’t necessarily coincide with displaying symptoms.
    Some diseases go through a second latent phase after infection when the organism does not show symptoms of the disease, but can become active again (herpes)
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4
Q

Direct Transmission- Direct Contact:

A
  • Physical touch between infected host and susceptible host
  • Skin
  • Sweat
  • Tears
  • Vomit
  • Nasal secretions
  • Blood
  • Saliva
  • Sexual fluids
  • Urine
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5
Q

Direct Transmission- Close Contact:

A
  • Airborne droplets between an infected host and susceptible individuals due to close proximity (≤ 1.5m)
  • New host inhales the infected droplets
  • Coughing, sneezing
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6
Q

Direct Transmission- Reservoir:

A
  • Soil
  • Fomite- inanimate object that pathogen can survive on
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7
Q

Indirect Transmission- Vector:

A
  • a living thing that transmits
  • mosquitos, fleas, and ticks
  • The insects become infected when they feed on infected hosts, such as birds, animals, and humans. The disease is then transmitted when the insect bites a new host.
  • Malaria, Ross River Virus, and Lyme disease
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8
Q

Indirect Transmission - Airborne transmission:

A
  • Spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs
  • Droplets can hang in the air for a long time
  • Droplets can travel 1-2m and land on surfaces or objects including tables, doorknobs and telephones.
  • Healthy people touch the contaminated objects with their hands, and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth.
  • influenza virus, cold virus, Covid-19
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9
Q

Indirect Contact -
Soilborne/waterborne/vehicle:

A
  • An inanimate object acts as an intermediary between the portal of exit form the reservoir and the portal of entry of the host
  • Pathogens can swim through water (phytopthera, chytridiomycosis)
  • Pathogen can be contained in the soil (Crown gall)
  • Infected soil can be carried on the soles of shoes or tyre treads etc
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10
Q

Bacteria Characteristics:

A
  • Earliest life forms
  • Unicellular or colonies
  • Prokaryotes- no membrane bound organelles ie nucleus
  • Ribosomes and circular DNA chromosome
  • Plasmids (small loop of DNA)
  • Cell wall- murein
  • Asexual reproduction (binary fission or budding)

Some have:
₋ a flagellum for movement
₋ Slimy bacterial capsule to help stick to surfaces
₋ endospores: tough dormant structure, resistant to heat, chemicals and drying out

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11
Q

How bacteria cause disease:

A
  1. Toxins that disrupt cell functioning or kill cells
  2. Damage host tissue directly (using it for nutrients or producing wastes)
  3. May induce an immune response so strong that it damages the hosts own cells
    * A lot of bacteria are opportunistic inhabiting the body but only cause disease when the immune system is weakened
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12
Q

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) Invasion Method:

A

Enters through mucous membranes- mouth, nose, lungs

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13
Q

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) Transmission:

A
  • Direct- Air (droplets)- cough, sneeze, talk, spit from humans and cows (zoonose)
  • Indirect-Droplet reservoirs (fomites)
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14
Q

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) Impact on Host (symptoms):

A
  • Coughing, chest pain
  • Coughing up blood
  • Fever
  • Night sweats
  • Headaches
  • Scarring of lung tissue
  • Unintentional weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Chills
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15
Q

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) Treatment:

A
  • Antibiotics- May take up to 6 months
  • Vaccination
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16
Q

Life cycle- MTB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis:

A
  1. MTB enters the lung
  2. MTB ingested by macrophage (WBC)
  3. MTB multiply in WBC
  4. WBC bursts releasing MTB to enter more WBCs
  5. Tubercle (Tubercle is a fibrous mass made up of fibrous tissue and containing WBCs and MTB) forms in lung
  6. Tubercle ruptures into lung and MTB is coughed out
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17
Q

Crown Gall Disease (Agrobacterium) Invasion Method:

A
  • Attracted to open wound by sugars/chemicals being released
  • Flagellated bacterium enters roots through open wound
  • Attaches to cell and plasmid DNA is inserted into plant DNA
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18
Q

Crown Gall Disease (Agrobacterium) Transmission:

A

Indirect contact from soil reservoir or fomite (tools)

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19
Q

Crown Gall Disease (Agrobacterium) Impact on Host:

A
  • Galls (tumours) on roots and stems
  • Galls prevent the movement of water and/or nutrients
  • Stunted growth
  • Changes gene expression and hormone production
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20
Q

Crown Gall Disease (Agrobacterium) Management Strategies:

A
  • Disinfecting tools
  • Heat treat infected soil
  • Remove and burn infected plants
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21
Q

Life Cycle- Crown Gall Disease:

A
  1. Bacteria enter roots from soil through wound
  2. Bacteria transfer some DNA (plasmid) to plant cells
  3. Bacteria reproduce in roots forming gall
  4. Gall detached and releases flagellated bacteria into soil
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22
Q

What are antibiotics used for?

A
  • Are used to treat bacterial infections
  • Produced by fungi or bacterial cells
  • Bactericidal- kill the cells
  • Bacteriostatic- inhibit growth
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23
Q

How do antibiotics work?

A

Work by:
1. by rupturing cell membrane
2. Stop synthesis of new cell wall during cell division
3. Inhibit enzymes essential for transcription or translation
4. Inhibit enzymes essential for metabolism

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24
Q

Fungi Characteristics:

A
  • Eukaryotes (Nucleus & membrane bound organelles)
  • Cell wall of chitin
  • Reproduce by spores
  • Unicellular and multicellular
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25
Q

Effects:

A
  • Mostly external
  • Inflammation and irritation of skin
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26
Q

Major Issues:

A
  • Rust diseases- affect crops like wheat- has an economic impact
  • Chytrid fungus- causing extinction of native frogs
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27
Q

Chytridiomycosis Invasion Method:

A

Enters skin cells

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28
Q

Chytridiomycosis Transmission:

A

Indirect- waterborne (free swimming zoospores)
Direct- contact between infected individuals

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29
Q

Chytridiomycosis Impact on Host:

A
  • Thickening of skin affecting gas exchange and osmoregulation
  • Excessive shedding of skin
  • Sitting out in the open
  • Lethargy
  • Legs spread outwards
  • Loss of appetite
  • Convulsions
  • Loss of righting reflex
  • Death
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30
Q

Chytridiomycosis Lifecycle:

A
  1. Single celled flagellated zoospore enters skin cell
  2. Thallus (the body of the fungus) forms
  3. New zoospores are produced in Thallus as it matures (asexual)
  4. Zoospores released into water where they swim to find a new host
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31
Q

Viruses:

A
  • Protein coat surrounding either DNA or RNA
  • a key part of the viruses success is it’s life cycle inside cells makes it hard for the immune system to destroy and hard to treat with medication
  • Vaccination is the most effective
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32
Q

How viruses work:

A
  1. Virus injects nucleic acids (RNA/DNA) into host cell
  2. Cell creates more virus particles
  3. Cell splits open (lysis) releasing viruses which infect more cells
    * Obligate- cannot function outside of the host cell
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33
Q

Viruses Invasion Method:

A
  • through a physical breach (a cut in the skin)
  • direct inoculation (e.g.mosquito bite)
  • direct infection of the surface itself (mucous membranes)
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34
Q

Life cycle- Virus:

A
  1. Viral entry
    * Attaches to host cell membrane
    * A hole forms in the membrane
    * the virus particle or its genetic contents are released into the host cell
  2. Viral replication
    * virus takes control of the host cell’s replication mechanisms(RNA/DNA)
    * begins making copies of itself (Nucleic Acid and protein coat)
    * New viruses are assembled
  3. Viral shedding
    * Cell ruptures- virus progeny are released to find new host cells
  4. Viral latency
    * Virus may remain dormant until conditions are favourable (eg cold sores)
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35
Q

Influenza Invasion Method:

A

Through mucous membranes

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36
Q

Influenza Transmission:

A

(Indirect)- Air-borne (droplets)

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37
Q

Influenza Impact on Host:

A
  • Fever/chills
  • dry cough
  • sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • headache
  • tiredness/extreme exhaustion
  • muscle and joint pain
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38
Q

Ross River Virus hosts:

A

humans, possums, bandicoots

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39
Q

Ross River Virus Invasion Method:

A

Injected into blood by mosquito

40
Q

Ross River Virus Transmission:

A

(indirect)- Vector- Mosquito bite

41
Q

Ross River Virus Impact on Host:

A
  • Joint pain swelling and stiffness
  • Muscle aches
  • Skin rash
  • Fever and chills
  • Headache
  • fatigue
42
Q

Honey Bee Viruses:

A
  • 24 known viruses
  • No symptoms at low levels
  • Sacbrood:
    ⁻ infects larvae which die and swell
    ⁻ workers remove larvae which burst releasing viruses (direct) and infecting more bees and larvae
    ⁻ Can kill entire colony
  • Death of bees severely affects pollination of food crops eg fruit, nut
  • No cure for any of these viruses
43
Q

Evolution of Viruses:

A

Antigenic Drift - small changes that occur continually over time.
Antigenic Shift - When two or more viral strains combine to form a new strain produces much more dangerous strains, particularly in zoonotic pathogens.

44
Q

Protista Characteristics:

A
  • Contains all the organisms that don’t easily fit into other kingdoms, characteristics are very diverse (the trash can of the classification world)
  • Eukaryotes
  • Membrane bound nucleus (some have multiple)
  • membrane bound organelles
  • Mostly unicellular but algae are multicellular
  • Mostly microscopic
  • Asexual and sexual (rare) reproduction
45
Q

Malaria (Human Host) Invasion Method:

A

enters bloodstream

46
Q

Malaria (Human Host) Transmission:

A

(indirect)- injected into blood with saliva
from female mosquito (vector)

47
Q

Malaria (Human Host) Impact on Host:

A
  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Shaking
  • Chills
  • Fatigue, muscle and back pain
  • Sweating
  • Destruction of red blood cells
48
Q

Stages in life-cycle of Plasmodia:

A

Gametocyte
Sporozoite- a motile spore-like cell
Merozoite

49
Q

Lifecycle- Malaria:

A

Human:
1. Sporozoite injected into blood stream during mosquito bite
2. Sporozoites asexually reproduce in the liver to form merozoites
3. Merozoites enter red blood cells asexually reproducing to form gametocyte

Mosquito:
4. Gametocytes transferred to female mosquito during bite
5. Gametocytes fuse to form zygote (sexual)
6. Zygotes burrow through mosquito gut wall to form a cyst which produces sporozoites
7. Sporozoites move to salivary gland

50
Q

Phytopthora cinnamomi (Jarrah dieback) Invasion Method:

A

(indirect)- zoo-flagellates (spores) enter roots

51
Q

Phytopthora cinnamomi (Jarrah dieback) Transmission:

A
  • Indirect- pathogen is carried to new areas and hosts
  • Waterborne
  • Movement of infected soil by animals- on paws, digging burrows, digestive system
  • Movement of soil by humans- vehicles, boots, tools
  • Between plants- root to root (direct)
52
Q

Phytopthora cinnamomi (Jarrah dieback) Impact on Host:

A
  • Root rot
  • Hyphae grow through roots absorbing nutrients and destroying tissue preventing movement of water
  • Wilting, yellowing, drying of leaves
53
Q

Jarrah Dieback - Phytopthora Life Cycle:

A
  1. P cinnamomi penetrate root
  2. Sporangia and chlamydosporesform
  3. Sporangia release zoospores into soil where they swim to new host

or

  1. If conditions are adverse chlamydospores lay dormant in soil until conditions are favourable (then release zoospore)
54
Q

Jarrah Dieback effect on ecosystem:

A
  • Kills trees- reduces biodiversity
  • Destroys nesting sites for birds
  • Succession- to resistant grasses
  • Soil erosion
  • Changes microclimate
55
Q

Describing the Occurrence of Infections:

A

Endemic- prevalent at constant rate within a population
Sporadic- diseases that occur irregularly within a population
Epidemic- an increase in cases of a disease over what is considered normal
Pandemic- epidemic that spreads across multiple continents

56
Q

Factors Affecting the Spread of Disease:

A
  1. Growth of the pathogen population
  2. Density of host population
  3. Mode of Transmission
57
Q

Growth of pathogen Population:

A
  • Increased size of pathogen population
  • Increases risk of transmission
  • Favourable environmental conditions can shorten reproductive cycle increasing population size
  • Infectivity-the ability of a pathogen to be transmitted between hosts and multiply
  • The more easily the pathogen can be passed on the more likely it is to survive
  • Virulence- the ability of the a pathogen to cause severe disease in the host (may cause population decline)
  • Ability to live outside host - spores, fomites
  • Being asymptomatic while contagious (or displaying symptoms)
58
Q

Density of the Host Population:

A
  • The more densely populated a community is the more likely organisms are to come into contact with an infected organism
  • Solitary organisms versus grouping organisms
  • Zoonoses are more likely as reduced habitat leads to greater interactions between humans and wild animals
59
Q

Mode of Transmission:

A
  • Indirect (Vector, airborne, soil/waterborne)
  • Direct (Direct, contact, close contact, reservoir)
  • Multiple modes of transmission increases likely hood of transmission (eg COVID-19)
60
Q
A
61
Q

What diseases are spread by mosquito vectors?

A
  • Malaria (440 000 deaths/year)
    Can be spread by:
    1. Mosquito bite (Genus- Anopheles)
    2. Blood transfusion
    3. In utero
    Approx 10 day incubation period
  • Ross River Virus
62
Q

Mosquito Lifecycle:

A
  • 50-200 eggs per laying
  • Hatch 2– 21 days depending on temp
  • Eggs laid in stagnant water every 3-6
    days
  • Larval stage 7-10 days
  • Pupae approx 4 days
  • Adult- 4 weeks
  • Feed on nectar
  • Females need protein from blood to
    make eggs
63
Q

How is climate change affecting the distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes?

A
  • Anopheles mosquitoes live in tropical climates
  • Mean monthly temp not below 18oC
  • 60mm or more rainfall each month
  • Little variation in day length
  • Climate change is expanding the regions with this type of climate to further from the tropics (also into higher altitudes)
  • Increased
  • Temperature
  • Rainfall
64
Q

Management Strategies- Medical:

A
  • Anti-malarial drugs- kill plasmodium (treat an infection)
  • quinine
  • Take preventative drugs
  • No vaccines
  • Isolation of infected individuals
    (quarantine)
65
Q

What can people to do prevent mosquito bites?

A

Physical preventative measures:
* Cover doors and windows with wire mesh/screens.
* Mosquito nets over beds.
* Indoor residual spraying with insecticide.
* Insect repellants on skin.
* Long sleeves/long dresses and full trousers after sunset

66
Q

Disruption of mosquito lifecycle:

A
  • Eliminating places where mosquitoes can lay eggs (stagnant water).
  • Reclaiming land by filling and draining.
  • Removing discarded containers that might collect water.
  • Covering cisterns (water tanks) with lids or mosquito nets.
  • Repairing leaks, preventing seepage of water and improving drainage.
  • Introduce special fish that eat mosquito larvae.
  • Putting insecticides in water tanks to kill mosquito larvae.
  • Spraying insecticides onto wetlands.
67
Q

Biosecurity:

A
  • Policy and regulatory frameworks designed to safeguard against biological threats to environments, organisms and human health;
  • Biosecurity measures aim to restrict entry of disease causing agents, genetically modified species, or invasive alien species or genotypes.
68
Q

Quarantine:

A

Humans travel (carry disease) much more than in the past
* Isolation of disease carriers (humans, animals, plants)
* Kept in quarantine until disease free
* Prevents contact between infected and uninfected individuals
* All food, plant and animal products must be declared
* International and interstate
* Prevents introduction of exotic pests, diseases, weeds
* Protects agriculture (low biodiversity)
* Forest areas to stop spread

69
Q

Immunisation (vaccination):

A

A solution of weakened or inactive antigens or pathogens that is introduced into the body to elicit an immune response
* Flu
* Tetanus
* Whooping cough
* Corona virus

70
Q

Herd Immunity:

A
  • Large proportion of the host population become immune (whooping cough over 92%)
  • Immunity by recovering from disease (natural) or a vaccine
  • Limits the spread of the disease- too few susceptible individuals to sustain the spread
  • Infected hosts mainly come into contact with immune hosts
  • Reduces the risk for susceptible individuals
  • Protects (vulnerable) individuals who cannot be vaccinated (young, old, immune system compromised)
  • Higher the proportion of the population that is immune, the greater the protection
71
Q

Disruption of pathogen lifecycle:

A
  • Killing the vector with insecticides at different stages of the lifecycle egg, juvenile, adult
  • Pheromone traps attract males
  • Removing habitat
  • Removing places for laying eggs
  • Medications – antiviral, antibiotic
72
Q

Medications- Antibiotics:

A
  • Are used to treat bacterial infections
  • Produced by fungi or bacterial cells
  • Bactericidal- kill the cells
  • Bacteriostatic- inhibit growth
  • Work by:
    1. Rupturing cell membrane
    2. Stop synthesis of new cell wall during cell division
    3. Inhibit enzymes essential for transcription or translation
    4. Inhibit enzymes essential for metabolism
73
Q

Medications- Antivirals:

A
  • Mostly inhibit replication of virus by preventing:
    1. Binding with cell membrane
    2. Cell entry
    3. Uncoating of the virus
    4. Nucleic acid synthesis (transcription/translation)
    5. Reassembly
    6. Exiting from cell
  • Sometimes kill viruses
74
Q

Physical preventative measures:

A
  • Handwashing
  • Wear long clothing to prevent mosquito bites.
  • Air filtration systems
  • Face masks, overalls, glasses
  • Disinfecting surfaces (hands, tools, equipment)
  • Vaccination
  • Spraying insecticides in aeroplanes
75
Q

Tracing origins of the infection:

A
  • Trace the origin of the infected organisms
  • Track the movement of the infected organisms
  • Track organisms that have come into contact with infected organisms
  • Contact Tracing
76
Q

Control Strategies:

A
  • Choose best strategies to disrupt of pathogen life cycle based on lifecycle and transmission
  • Quarantine
  • Restrict movement at exposure sites
  • Medication
  • Destroying infected individuals
  • Monitor populations for signs of disease
  • Good hygiene- disinfecting areas exposed to pathogen (rooms, soil,
    tools)
  • Education programmes to raise awareness
77
Q

Why are pathogens subject to natural selection?

A

Pathogens contain nucleic acids and are therefore subject to natural selection

77
Q
A
78
Q

Antibiotic Resistance:

A
  1. Affected people treated with antibiotics
  2. Kills off antibiotic sensitive strains of the bacterium
  3. Some bacteria acquired resistance to the antibiotic by mutation
  4. Resistant bacteria unaffected by the antibiotic
  5. Next generation all resistant
    * Once a resistant gene is generated, bacteria can pass the genetic information between individuals by plasmid exchange.
79
Q

Resistance v Immunity:

A

Antibiotic Resistance is where an organisms DNA allows it to tolerate a certain level of antibiotics

Immunity is when an organism’s immune system is stimulated by the presence of a foreign pathogen

80
Q

Conjugation:

A

In this process the plasmid containing the trait is passed from one bacteria to another through a structure called a pili.

81
Q

Reasons for the widespread use of
antibiotics:

A
  • Increasing availability of antibiotics since the 1950s
  • Uncontrolled sale in many countries (without a prescription)
  • Incorrect diagnosis/unnecessary prescriptions (colds or flus)
  • Improper use by patients (not finishing course)
  • The use of antibiotics as livestock food additives for growth promotion.
82
Q

How does resistance occur?

A
  • Resistance occurs through evolution in all pathogen types:
  • Bacteria
  • Fungi
  • Protozoans
  • Viruses
  • Improper use of medication can lead to resistance in any pathogen type
83
Q

Susceptibility of urban areas to epidemics and pandemics of infectious disease can be due to: Population density

A
  • Most diseases are spread through close contact
  • Higher population density=more people in an area
  • Infected people will come into contact with uninfected people more often
  • Therefore diseases spread faster in high density areas
  • Often high density populations have poor sanitation
84
Q

susceptibility of urban areas to epidemics and pandemics of infectious disease can be due to: Variation in living conditions, sanitation, sewage, clean water

A
  • Many diseases are spread through body fluids
  • If drinking water isn’t cleaned properly it can contain pathogens
  • In some countries people are forced to live in crowded and dirty conditions
85
Q

Susceptibility of urban areas to epidemics and pandemics of infectious disease can be due to: Healthcare provisions- access to vaccinations, medications, healthcare professionals:

A
  • Poorer countries don’t have access to free healthcare, this makes them more susceptible to disease outbreaks
  • Doctors- disease may go undiagnosed/incorrect treatments- greater spread
  • Immunisations- populations lack herd immunity
  • Medicine- affected individuals are not treated so spread disease
  • Antibiotics/ anti-virals
  • Health education- raise awareness of health practices
  • Often this accompanies high density living and lack of access to clean drinking water etc
86
Q

Computer models can project:

A
  • the spread of disease
  • simulate the effects of possible interventions (vaccination etc)
87
Q

Supercomputing has enabled models to predict the relationships between:

A
  • epidemic frequency and location
  • factors such as population size, environmental change, persistence and antibiotic resistance
88
Q

What is Epidemiology?

A

the study of the spread and control of disease

89
Q

Computer engineers:

A

Computer engineers enter all the know information about a pathogen, the host and the environment. They can then manipulate the variables to determine the most effective approach to tackling an outbreak

90
Q

Pathogen Information:

A
  • Infectivity- how easily is it spread between hosts
  • Virulence- degree of damage caused to the host
  • Latent period- when host is asymptomatic
  • Infectious period- time when host can transmit pathogen to others
  • Antibiotic resistance
  • Treatments (medication, immunisation etc)
91
Q

Host information:

A
  • Size of host population
  • Density of host population
  • Immunity in population
  • Religious or cultural
  • Travel patterns
92
Q

Environment information:

A
  • Temperature
  • Natural disasters
  • Sanitation and water supply
93
Q

International cooperation and communication are needed to evaluate the risk of the spread of disease, including the emergence of new viral diseases:

A
  • Serious diseases are required by law to be reported to health authorities- COVID-19, Malaria, TB
  • This allows governments to collect information about these diseases and share it with other area/countries
  • This can help prevent major outbreaks
  • Help develop flu vaccines
94
Q

Quarantine measures protect Australia’s agriculture industry and environment against the influx of disease‐carrying materials and organisms in the face of increasing global trade and travel:

A
  • Humans travel (carry disease) much more than in the past
  • Isolation of disease carriers (humans, animals, plants)
  • Kept in quarantine until disease free
  • Prevents contact between infected and uninfected individuals
  • All food, plant and animal products must be declared
  • International, interstate or local (a suburb or farm)
  • Prevents introduction of exotic pests, diseases, weeds
  • Protects agriculture (low biodiversity)
  • Forest areas to stop spread

Biology (8 decks)

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