With reference to Cancer, TB, HIV, or Covid-19;

(1) What causes illness?;

(2) How can we treat it?

Ans: A disease is a condition that impairs the proper functioning of the body or of one of its part.
Every living thing, both plants and animals, can succumb to disease. People, for example, are often
infected by bacteria, but bacteria, in turn, can be infected by viruses. Every disease has a cause,
although the causes of some remain to be discovered. Cancer, HIV, TB and Covid-19 are some of the
common diseases these days and in fact, the Covid 19 is the most common of all. It has been said that
this new disease called Covid-19 is caused by a particular virus called “SARS-CoV-2”. Many health
experts believe that the coronavirus originated in bats or pangolins and then spread rapidly to many
parts of the world. Cancer is yet another common disease which is caused by abnormal growth of
cells in the body, that is, when cells multiply at an abnormal rate in any part of the body. The
symptoms of cancer are not defined as they vary according to the stage and type of cancer in a person.
Another virus, HIV, is quite common. Its expanded form is Human Immunodeficiency Virus and it
causes an illness called AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV destroys the WBCs and
weakens the human immune system. The weakening of the immune system affects an individual’s
ability to fight diseases in time. For example, a cut or a wound takes much more time to heal or the
blood to clot. In some cases, the wound never heals. TB (Tuberculosis) is yet another one of the
commonly heard diseases. It is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect
any organ in the body. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. It's spread when a person with active TB disease in their lungs coughs or sneezes and
someone else inhales the expelled droplets, which contain TB bacteria.
In terms of treatment, there is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for Covid-19.
individuals with mild symptoms are isolated at home so they can improve with rest and fluids. For
those with severe symptoms, treatment is focused on supportive care such as providing fluids,
oxygen, and ventilatory support for really ill people. Cancer treatments can be very depressing to the
mind and can financially put a great hole as well. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy
frequently used remedies to cure cancer. There are also other treatments but they have to be in the
strict supervision of a doctor. Thus, cancer is a dangerous disease that can be won against willpower
and proper guidance against it. Till date, no treatment or cure is available for curing AIDS, and as a
result, it is a life-threatening disease. As a practice by medical practitioners, the best way to curb its
spread is antiretroviral therapy or ART. It is a drug therapy which prevents HIV from replicating and
hence slows down its progress. It is always advisable to start the treatment at the earliest to minimise
the damage to the immune system. But again, it is just a measure and doesn’t guarantee the cure of
AIDS. AIDS prevention lies in the process of curbing its spread. One should regularly and routinely
get tested for HIV. Treatment for tuberculosis (TB) usually involves taking antibiotics for several
months. While TB is a serious condition that can be fatal if left untreated, deaths are rare if treatment
is completed. Most people do not need to be admitted to hospital during treatment.

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By: Aibianglin Thabah,
Bsc. 2nd Semester,
Department of Psychology.