Week 11B - Modern strategies for Fighting Infectious Diseases

Question 1

What are Toxins?

Answer 1

Proteins from microbe/virus

Question 2

How does a vaccine work?

Answer 2

1 - Toxin is injected into human body (usually weakened or genetically altered disease)
2 - Injecting weakened microbe causes a strong reaction followed by immunity

Question 3

What is an antibiotic?

Answer 3

A drug that prevents bacterial infections

Question 4

What led to the discovery of antibiotics?

Answer 4

Bacterias and molds that disrupt growth of other microbes

Question 5

What is antigenic drift?

Answer 5

Minor mutations in a virus that prevent it from being stopped by the immune system

Question 6

What is antigenic shift?

Answer 6

Drastic change in composition of virus results in viruses with entirely new antigens

Question 7

Explain how vaccines are produced for emerging diseases.

Answer 7

1 - Identify the strain that causes the outbreak
2 - Increase the yield (for testing and subduing purposes)
3 - Attempt to subdue the strain for vaccines
4 - Test the vaccine

Question 8

What caused Smallpox?

Answer 8

Smallpox Virus

Question 9

What caused Typhus

Answer 9

Rickettsia Prowazekii bacterium

Question 10

What caused Malaria?

Answer 10

Plasmodium Falciparum protozoa

Question 11

What caused Black Death?

Answer 11

Yersinia Pestis bacterium

Question 12

What causes Cholera?

Answer 12

Cholera Streptococcus bacterium

Question 13

What caused Spanish Flu?

Answer 13

Influenza Virus (H1N1)

Question 14

What causes AIDS?

Answer 14

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)