Preventing, Treating and Curing Disease Flashcards
Name the four types of pathogen
Bacteria, virus, protist, fungi
What are bacteria?
Unicellular prokaryotic organisms which produce toxins which make us feel ill
What are viruses?
Non-living particles which invade cells, use them to create more virus particles and cause cells to burst which makes us feel ill
What are protists?
Eukaryotic unicellular organisms which may be parasitic and are usually carried by vectors
What are fungi?
Unicellular or multicellular eukaryotic organisms which spread through spores
Give two examples of bacterial diseases
Cholera, salmonella, chlamydia, gonorrhea
Give two examples of viral diseases
HIV, measles, TMV, chicken pox, flu, cold
Give one example of a protist disease
Malaria
Give one example of a fungal disease
Athlete’s foot
Give five ways diseases can be transmitted
Food, water, direct contact, airborne droplets, vectors
Name a disease transmitted through water
Cholera
Name a disease transmitted through food
Salmonella
Name a disease transmitted through direct contact
HIV
Name a disease transmitted through airborne droplets
Flu, cold, measles, chicken pox
Name a disease transmitted by vectors
Malaria (by mosquito)
Give three ways we can prevent the spread of diseases
Sneezing and coughing into a tissue, washing hands with soap regularly, cooking food thoroughly, not drinking contaminated water, not having unprotected sex/sharing needles
State three actions of white blood cells
Phagocytosis (engulfing and digesting pathogens), producing antibodies and antitoxins
Describe the general physical immune defences of the body
Skin acts as barrier, mucus captures pathogens in the airways and cilia wafts mucus away from lungs to throat to be swallowed and digested, formation of scabs over wounds
Describe the general chemical immune defences of the body
Lysozymes in tears, hydrochloric acid in stomach
What is a vaccine?
Dead or inactive pathogen injected into a person to stimulate an immune response without causing the disease
What do antibodies do?
Bind to antigens on surface of pathogen so they can be destroyed by white blood cells
What are antigens?
Proteins on the surface of cells which allows them to be identified
How do white blood cells recognise pathogens?
Recognise foreign antigens on surface of pathogens
How does the body respond to the first exposure to a vaccine or disease?
Antibodies are produced slowly and decrease to a low level once the pathogen has been destroyed
How does the body respond to the second exposure to a disease or booster vaccine?
Antibodies are produced quicker and in greater numbers than for first exposure and remain at a higher level for longer
What is an antibiotic?
A substance which kills or prevents the growth of bacteria
Which pathogen cannot be treated using antibiotics?
Viruses
Describe how painkillers work
They block nerve signals to the brain from the part of the body which is in pain
Give an example of a painkiller
Paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen, morphine
Give an example of an antibiotic
Penicillin, amoxycillin
Why must you always finish the course of antibiotics?
To prevent the growth of resistant bacteria
State the four stages of drug testing
Human cells, animals, healthy volunteers, patients
Define what a placebo is
A fake drug which looks the same as the medicine but has no active ingredient
Why do we use placebos?
To make sure that the drug is effective rather than people getting better because they believe they are being treated
What is a double-blind trial?
Neither the doctor nor the patient know whether they are taking the real drug or placebo
What is a blind trial?
The doctor knows whether the patient is taking the placebo or real drug but the patient does not know
Define efficacy
How effective the drug is at treating the disease
Define toxicity
Whether the drug kills you or not
Define dosage
How much of the drug should be taken
What are side effects?
Negative effects of taking a drug which are unwanted
Why are drugs tested on health volunteers before patients?
To test for side effects
Why are drugs tested on human cells?
To test for toxicity
Why are drugs tested on patients?
To test for efficacy
How can a person be made immune to a specific disease?
vaccination
What is MRSA?
a strain of bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics.
