INFECTIOUS DISEASES

 A disease is an illness or disorder of the body or mind that leads to poor health

 Each disease is associated with a set of signs and symptoms
 Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens and are transmissible (can be spread
between individuals within a population)
Infectious & non-infectious disease
Infectious diseases are diseases that are caused pathogens and transmitted from one infected
person to another.
Non-infectious diseases are diseases that are not caused pathogens and not transmitted from
one person to another.
 Pathogens can be passed on from host to host in different ways, including:
o Direct contact - the pathogen is passed directly from one host to another by
transfer of body fluids such as blood or semen (eg HIV, gonorrhoea, hepatitis
B & C)
o Indirect contact - the pathogen leaves the host and is carried in some way to
another, uninfected individual
Defences against Pathogens
There are 3 main ways in which the body defends itself against disease:
1. Mechanical barriers – structures that make it difficult for pathogens to get past them and
into the body
 a) Skin - covers almost all parts of your body to prevent infection from pathogens. If
it is cut or grazed, it immediately begins to heal itself, often by forming a scab.
 b) Hairs in the nose - these make it difficult for pathogens to get past them further up
the nose so they are not inhaled into the lungs
2. Chemical barriers – substances produced by the body cells that trap / kill pathogens
before they can get further into the body and cause disease
 a) Mucus - made in various places in the body, pathogens get trapped in the mucus
and can then be removed from the body (by coughing, blowing the nose, swallowing
etc)
 b) Stomach acid - contains hydrochloric acid which is strong enough to kill any
pathogens that have been caught in mucus in the airways and then swallowed or have
been consumed in food or water
3. Cells - different types of white blood cell work to prevent pathogens reaching areas of
the body they can replicate in
 a) By phagocytosis - engulfing and digesting pathogenic cells
 b) By producing antibodies - which clump pathogenic cells together so they can’t
move as easily (known as agglutination) and releasing chemicals that signal to other
cells that they must be destroyed

Common Diseases

 CHOLERA

Pathogen: Vibrio cholera (bacteria)

Method of transmission: food – borne, water-borne

Site of action of pathogen: wall of small intestine

Signs and symptoms: severe diarrhea ‘rice water’, loss of water and salts, dehydration,
weakness, vomiting, thirst, muscle cramps, rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, dryness in
mouth, throat, nose, eyelids.

When the bacteria reach the small intestine, they multiply and secrete a toxin, choleragen
which disrupts the functions of the epithelium so that salts (chloride ions) and water leave the
blood causing severe diarrhea. This can be fatal.

Treatment and prevention:

People suffering from cholera are given oral rehydration therapy to replace the water and
salts lost.

Infected persons are also given antibiotics (in severe cases).

Developed countries are free from cholera as a result of sewage treatment and provision of
clean piped water, which is chlorinated to kill bacteria.

Travelers to areas where cholera is endemic used to be advised to be vaccinated, but this
provides only short term protection.

 MALARIA

Pathogen: Plasmodium (protoctist)

Method of transmission: insect vector – female Anopheles mosquito

Site of action of pathogen: liver, red blood cell, brain

Signs and symptoms: fever, anaemia, nausea, headaches, muscle pain, shivering, sweating,
enlarged spleen

Mosquito feeds on human blood (to obtain proteins they need to develop their eggs). If the
person is infected, the mosquito takes up the pathogen’s gametes, which fuse and develop in
the mosquito’s gut to form the infective stage which moves to the salivary glands. When the
mosquito bites another person, it injects an anticoagulant to prevent blood clotting. The
infective stages pass into the person’s blood together with the anticoagulant. The pathogen
then passes to the liver and red blood cells where they multiply.

The female Anopheles mosquito is therefore the vector: it transmits the disease.

Malaria can also be transmitted during blood transfusion, using unsterilized contaminated
needles, from mother to fetus.

Three main ways to control malaria:

1. Reduce the number of mosquitoes: - spread oil over the surface of water
 - Drain stagnant water
- Introduce fish in ponds to feed on larvae
- Use of mosquito coils, sprays
2. Avoid being bitten by mosquitoes: - sleep under mosquito nets
- Use insect repellents
- Wear long clothes , especially at dusk when
the mosquitoes are most active
- Sleep with a dog or pig as mosquitoes prefer
animal blood to human blood.
3. Use drugs to prevent the parasite infecting people: - anti-malarial drugs such as
quinine and chloroquine are used to treat infected people and also used as
prophylactic (preventive) drugs to stop an infection occurring. People visiting parts of
the tropics are advised to take anti-malarial drugs before, during and after visiting the
area.

 AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

Pathogen: human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Method of transmission: in semen and vaginal fluids, infected blood, contaminated

hypodermic syringes, mother to fetus across placenta and breast milk

Site of action of pathogen: T helper lymphocytes, macrophages, brain cells

Signs and symptoms: HIV infection: flu-like symptoms, then symptomless

AIDS: opportunistic infections including pneumonia, TB, cancers, weight loss, diarrhea,
fever, sweating, dementia, Kaposi’s sarcoma

HIV infects and destroys the lymphocytes so that their numbers gradually decrease, thus the
body is unable to defend itself against infection, causing a variety of opportunistic infections.
AIDS is not a disease; it is a collection of rare opportunistic diseases associated with
immune-deficiency caused by HIV infection.

HIV is a slow virus and after infection, there may not be symptoms until years later. At this
stage, the person is HIV positive but does not have AIDS.

Infections that opportunistically develop to create AIDS are oral thrush and pneumonia. As
the immune system collapses further, cancers develop. HIV infection makes people more
vulnerable to existing diseases such as malnutrition, TB and malaria.

So far, there is no cure for AIDS and no vaccines for HIV. Drug therapy can delay the onset
of AIDS. The drugs, however, are expensive and have a variety of side effects (rashes,
headaches, diarrhea, nerve damage, abnormal fat distribution).
The spread of AIDS is difficult to control. Infection can be spread by people who are infected
but do not show symptoms of AIDS and do not know they are infected.

Measures to stop AIDS infection (HIV control):

 Education about the spread of the virus

 Encourage people to change their behavior to protect themselves and others
 Use of condoms, femidoms, to reduce risk of infection
 Contact tracing
 Advice to drug users to stop sharing needles or taking their drugs in some other way
 Collected blood is screened for HIV and heat-treated to kill any viruses
 HIV positive mothers in developed countries are advised not to breast feed

=================================================================

DRUGS
A drug is any externally administered chemical substance (other than food) that modifies or
affects chemical reactions in the body.
A drug may be beneficial to the body or harmful to it depending on how it is used.

 Antibiotics
These are chemicals used to treat many infectious diseases caused by microorganisms. These
chemicals are produced by certain bacteria and moulds.
Antibiotics do not harm viruses.

How do antibiotics work?

Antibiotics work by:

 Inhibiting the synthesis of bacterial cell walls: water enters by osmosis and the cell bursts
 Inhibiting protein synthesis: antibiotics bind to ribosomes to prevent protein synthesis
 Inhibiting enzyme action
 Inhibiting cell ,e,brane

Penicillin: Why it Affects Bacteria & Not Viruses

 Penicillin (and other antibiotics) do not affect viruses as they do not have cells (or cell
walls) and therefore cannot be targeted in any of the ways that an antibiotic targets a
bacterial cell.
 When a virus replicates, it uses the host cell’s mechanisms for transcription and
translation, so not even these processes can be targeted as antibiotics do not bind to
the proteins that host cells use in these processes
Within a bacterial population, there is variation caused by mutations. A mutation might
cause some bacteria to become resistant to an antibiotic (eg. penicillin). Commonly
prescribed antibiotics are becoming less effective for many reasons, the main being:
o Overuse of antibiotics and antibiotics being prescribed when not necessary
o Large scale use of antibiotics in farming to prevent disease when livestock are
kept in close quarters, even when animals are not sick
 o Patients failing to complete the full course of antibiotics prescribed by doctors
The most common example is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has developed
resistance to a powerful antibiotic methicillin and is now known as MRSA (Methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as well as other antibiotics (eg. penicillin)

ALCOHOL
Normally it is consumed in the form of alcoholic beverages. It is rapidly absorbed into the
blood and broken down in the liver.
Alcohol is a depressant, that is, it slows down some brain functions. Its effect varies from one
person to another.
Observable effects of intoxication: slurred speech, blurred vision and poor muscular
coordination (clumsy and unable to walk steadily).
The drinker gets into a drunken stupor as more areas of the brain are dulled. The brain
becomes anaesthetized and unconsciousness occurs. High levels of alcohol may paralyse the
medulla oblongata which controls breathing and heart beat and death occurs.

Effects of alcohol on digestive system

Alcohol stimulates acid secretion in the stomach. This increases the risk of gastric ulcers.
Over the years, it may damage the liver, leading to liver cirrhosis, where liver cells are
destroyed and replaced with fibrous tissue.
Haemorrhage in the liver and liver failure often cause death.

Social Effects of alcohol

People usually lose their interest in their jobs, leading to unemployment. This leads to crimes.
There is a higher risk of disputes in families.

SMOKING
Reasons why people smoke:
 Symbol of adulthood
 They think that maturity, social status, happiness and success are linked with
smoking.
 Out of curiosity.
 Imitate parents.
 To be accepted by a group of friends who smoke (peer pressure).

Why people continue to smoke:

  It is stimulating.
 It relieves tension. Depression or boredom.
 People have already formed a habit.
 To prevent withdrawal symptoms.

Facts about Smoking

Cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals harmful to the body.

Nicotine: Carbon monoxide:

It is the addictive drug in tobacco.
- Initially it stimulates the brain and relaxes
muscles. Later it dulls the brain and senses.
- Causes release of adrenaline – increase heart
beat rate and blood pressure.
- Makes blood clot easily - increasing the risk of
heart attack and stroke.
- It reduces the efficiency of red blood cells to
transport oxygen. It combines with
haemoglobin in blood to form
carboxyhaemoglobin which cannot carry
oxygen.
- Increases the deposition of fatty substances
on inner walls of arteries.
- Damages lining of blood vessels, increasing
risk of blood to clot and block blood vessels.

Tar:
A brown sticky substance that accumulates in the
lungs during smoking.
- contains cancer-causing (carcinogenic)
chemicals. These cause cancers that block off
air-sacs, reducing efficiency for gas exchange.
- it paralyses cilia lining the air passages, thus
preventing cilia from removing dust from trachea
and lungs.
Irritants:
- These paralyse cilia in air passages and
weaken wall of alveoli.
- they irritate cell lining the air passages to
produce more mucus, causing smoker’s
cough. Coughing bursts walls of alveoli.
Surface of lungs become reduced.

Smoking- Related Diseases

 Lung Cancer: smoking increases the risk of lung cancer.
 Other cancers: mouth, throat (larynx), pancreas, kidneys, urinary bladder.

 Chronic bronchitis

The epithelium of bronchi becomes inflamed and narrowed. Excessive mucus is produced.
This reduces air flow in air passages, breathing becomes difficult. The person coughs
frequently and lungs are more likely to be infected by bacteria. This results in increased
production of sputum or phlegm.
 Emphysema
It is commonly associated with chronic bronchitis and cigarette smoking.
The walls of alveoli break due to intensive coughing, surface area of lungs are reduced. This
reduces absorption of oxygen. Breathing becomes difficult. The person suffers from
breathlessness.
Smoking and pregnancy
Carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the fetus.
Nicotine causes the arteries that bring blood to the placenta to narrow. This reduces the
amount of nutrients reaching the fetus.
Ways in which smoking during pregnancy affects the babies:
1. Brain development of the fetus is affected.
2. Fetus grows more slowly. And so is born smaller, fragile and may die within
first few days of life.
3. Higher risk of baby being born prematurely.
4. Greater risk of miscarriage.
5. Greater risk of baby being born dead (stillborn).