Name: Claro M.

Garchitorena Section/Block/Year: BSN 1B Date: March 15, 2023

Microbiology and Parasitology

Activity 4: The Control of Disease

1. Distinguish between contagious and non-communicable diseases, providing an example of

each.
- Common examples of contagious viral diseases include the flu, the common cold, HIV, and
herpes. Other types of viral diseases spread through other means, such as the bite of an
infected insect.
- A non-communicable disease is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person
to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart
diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others.

2.
a. Explain the difference between isolation and quarantine:
- Quarantine is when we take someone who is completely asymptomatic and keep them away
from everyone else if they might develop the disease. "Usually, there's some reason why we
do that. In other words, they've traveled to an area that has a very high prevalence of a
disease or a condition."
- Isolation is when we take somebody who is positive for the disease and keep them away
from everyone else. If you’re in isolation and you're at home, you want to be isolated from
your family members as much as possible. If you have access to even a basic surgical mask,
you should be using that type of personal protective equipment.
b. Using the recent example of SARS, explain how isolation and quarantine operate to prevent
the spread of disease:
- To contain the spread of a contagious illness, public health authorities rely on many
strategies. Two of these strategies are isolation and quarantine. Both are common practices
in public health, and both aim to control exposure to infected or potentially infected
persons. Both may be undertaken voluntarily and compelled by public health authorities.
The two strategies differ in that isolation applies to persons who are known to have an
illness, and quarantine applies to those who have been exposed to an illness but who may or
may not become ill.

3. Explain how the use of condoms reduces the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) that causes AIDS:
- Consistent and correct use of latex condoms reduces the risk of sexually transmitted disease
(STD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. However, condom use cannot
provide absolute protection against any STD. The most reliable ways to avoid transmission of
STDs are to abstain from sexual activity, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous
relationship with an uninfected partner. However, many infected persons may be unaware of
their infection because STDs often are asymptomatic and unrecognized.
4. Explain how the drainage of stagnant water in tropical regions may reduce the incidence of
malaria in those countries:
- Source reduction is removal or permanent destruction of mosquito breeding sites. The larval
habitats may be destroyed by filling depressions that collect water, by draining swamps or by
ditching marshy areas to remove standing water. Mosquitoes that breed in irrigation water
can be controlled through careful water management.

5. Describe how each of the following methods is used to control the growth of disease-causing
microbes:

a. Disinfectants:
- To prevent the spread of human disease, it is necessary to control the growth and
abundance of microbes in or on various items frequently used by humans. Inanimate items,
such as doorknobs, toys, or towels, which may harbor microbes and aid in disease
transmission, are called fomites.
b. Antiseptics:
- Are for cleaning the skin, wounds, and mucous membranes. Antiseptics are like
disinfectants, often sharing similar active ingredients in different quantities. However, a
person should not use disinfectants on the skin.
c. Heat:
- Is one of the most common—and oldest—forms of microbial control. It is used in simple
techniques like cooking and canning. Heat can kill microbes by altering their membranes and
denaturing proteins. The thermal death point (TDP) of a microorganism is the lowest
temperature at which all microbes are killed in a 10-minute exposure.
d. Ionizing radiation (gamma rays):
- The use of X-rays and radioactive materials in science, medicine, and industry led to the
recognition, documented by reports of radiation burns, that radiation exposure, although
helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of disease, might also be harmful, and protective
measures were taken to limit exposure.
e. Desiccation:
- is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. In biology and ecology,
desiccation refers to the drying out of a living organism. Microorganisms cannot grow and
divide when desiccated, but can survive for certain periods of time, depending on their
features. After the addition of water, the bacteria will start growing again, so desiccation
does not provide complete sterilization.
f. Cold:
- are used in the refrigerator to control microbial growth. At low temperatures, microbial
metabolism slows considerably, and the reproductive rate is reduced. However, cold
temperatures do not necessarily kill microorganisms.
The first measles vaccine was introduced to Britain in 1964. However, in 1993 there were 9000 cases of
measles notified to the health authorities in England and Wales.

a. Suggest why measles has not been eliminated in Britain:

- Measles and rubella can be eliminated, and congenital rubella infections prevented by
achieving high uptake of the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in
national childhood immunization programs. All Member States of the World Health
Organization (WHO) European Region have a longstanding commitment to eliminating
measles and rubella and this is a core goal of the European Vaccine Action Plan 2015 to
2020. In the UK the MMR vaccine is offered to all children at 1 year of age, with a second
dose given at 3 years and 4 months.

- UK Health Security Agency is responsible for collating and submitting evidence every year, on
behalf of the devolved administrations (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), to
the UK national verification committee (NVC) and the WHO Regional Verification
Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination (RVC) for review and evaluation on an
annual basis.

b. Explain how vaccination interrupts the transmission of measles within a population.

- Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. Before the introduction of
measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred
approximately every 2–3 years and measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each
year.
- More than 140 000 people died from measles in 2018 – mostly children under the age of 5
years, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.
- Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family, and it is normally passed through
direct contact and through the air. The virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads
throughout the body. Measles is a human disease and is not known to occur in animals.
- Accelerated immunization activities have had a major impact on reducing measles deaths.
During 2000– 2018, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 23.2 million deaths. Global
measles deaths have decreased by 73% from an estimated 536 000 in 2000* to 142 000 in
2018.