Treatment and Prevention of Disease

Question 1

What is an infectious disease?

Answer 1

disorders (that impair normal tissue function) caused by organisms — such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites

Question 2

What is a communicable infectious disease?

Answer 2

Transmitted from one host to another

Question 3

What is a contagious infectious disease?

Answer 3

EASILY Transmitted from one host to another

Question 4

What is a non-communicable infectious disease?

Answer 4

Not normally transmitted from one host to another eg. Tetanus

Question 5

Name 7 ways infectious diseases can spread?

Answer 5

Dependent on disease agent

Direct contact – touching, kissing etc.

Indirect contact – door handles, etc.

Droplet transmission – coughs, sneezes

Ingestion of contaminated water or food

Air - in tiny droplets or on dust particles

Insect and animal bites

Question 6

Why are some drugs not as effective as they once were in treating infections?

Answer 6

Diseases can change over time:

Mutations in the DNA/RNA of the bacteria or viruses

The environmental conditions determine whether the mutation is “good” or “bad” from the pathogen’s point of view

eg. H1N1 strains becoming resistant to Tamiflu or some strains of bacteria are not killed by antibiotics

Question 7

What is a mutation?

Answer 7

Mutation = any change in the DNA sequence

Question 8

How fast can mutation for bacteria happen

Answer 8

within 3 years

Question 9

Nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections are the _______ leading cause of death in Canada: most are antibiotic resistant bacterial infections

Answer 9

4th

Question 10

What can speed up mutation of a population of bacteria?

Answer 10

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics

Question 11

What is immunity?

Answer 11

The ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin

Question 12

What is innate immunity?

Answer 12

nonspecific defense mechanisms that defends your body from infection. These mechanisms include physical barriers such as skin, chemicals in the blood, and immune system cells that attack foreign cells in the body.

Question 13

How does innate immunity respond to a threat to your system?

Answer 13

Fever
Inflammation
Vomiting

Question 14

What is acquired Immunity?

Answer 14

immunity that develops with exposure to various antigens. eg. vaccine

Question 15

What is a vaccine?

Answer 15

Dead or disabled versions of a disease are introduced to the body. Antibodies are developed over 10-14 days

Question 16

What happens if you encounter a disease for which you were vaccinated?

Answer 16

The antibodies will attack the real disease and you won’t get sick

Question 17

What is “Herd Immunity”?

Answer 17

when the majority of people are vaccinated, even unvaccinated people are safe

Question 18

What is the contagious value of a disease?

Answer 18

The number of people who can be infected by one person in one day. Eg. 1 person with mumps can infect 11 people each day giving it a contagious value of 11

Question 19

How do we determine the percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated to keep outbreaks from occurring (Herd Immunity)?

Answer 19

Using the Contagious Value (p) calculate:

x=1/p

In this equation, p is the contagious value and x is the maximum proportion of unvaccinated people in the community before an outbreak occurs

mumps 1/11 = .09

flu 1/1.6 = .625

Mumps: we can have 0.09 or 9% not vaccinated before outbreaks begin, so we need 100-9 = 91% vaccinated

Flu: we can have 0.625 or 62.5% not vaccinated before outbreaks begin, so we need 100-62.5= 37.5% vaccinated

Question 20

Which diseases are most likely to have outbreaks if herd immunity is lost?

Answer 20

Seems to be the most contagious
(highest Contagious Value)
like Measles (16) and Whooping Cough (16) Which we have already seen already in Europe, UK and USA and Alberta (measles)

Question 21

What threats are there to vaccine programs?

Answer 21

Wars and Natural disasters

Religious groups

Taliban (not vaccinating in Pakistan and Afganistan)

Bad science combined with celebrities speaking out
(fake study saying MMR vaccine causes autism)

Question 22

What are the risks to being vaccinated?

Answer 22

very small chance of the vaccine causing the disease

allergic reaction
Some vaccinesmade with eggs - if allergic to egg you may react

Some vaccines contain preservatives (Thiomersal) that some people may react to

Question 23

What is Childbed Fever?

Answer 23

very serious form of septicaemia, caused by organisms such as the Group A streptococcus (GAS) bacteria which, if untreated, may lead to toxic shock syndrome, multi-organ failure and death.

Question 24

How can you prevent the majority of Childbed Fever cases?

Answer 24

Good hygene - wash your hands