Causes of Infectious Disease Flashcards
(45 cards)
def health
According to WHO “a state of complete mental physical and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
diff path types
- prion
- virus
- bac
- protozoa
- fungi
- macroparasite
path types nonliving
- prion
- virus
path types living
- bac
- prot
- fungi
- macroparasite
prion def + e.g.
- Defective form of protein molecule not containing 🧬 or RNA
- e.g. CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) - caused by BSE prion
eat nerve tissue, prion proteins are not digested in the gut & can enter the 🩸stream, eventually reaching the 🧠
prion sz
10 nm
vir def + e.g.
- Microscopic non-cellular infectious agents containing DNA, RNA, protective coating of protein
- e.g. Polio caused by Human Polio Virus (HPV)
contagious via faecal-oral route - virus present in faeces of infected -> poor personal hygiene -> contaminated 💧 + 🍽️
vir sz
< 500 nm
bac def + e.g.
- Unicellular, prokaryotic, microscopic pathogens with a nucleus containing DNA
- e.g. TB - caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
spread from 🧑🏻 to 👧🏻 through the air
bac sz
1 μm
prot def + e.g.
- Eukaryotic unicellular organisms
- e.g. Malaria - caused by Plasmodium sp.
parasite first travels to a human’s liver to grow and multiply
then travels into the 🩸stream and infects and destroys RBCs
prot sz
50-150 um
fungi def + e.g.
- Single or multi-celled organisms that can survive outside a host, has nucleus + cell wall
- e.g. Tinea (Athlete’s 🦶) - caused by Tinea pedis (a mould-like fungus)
Highly contagious disease which feeds on skin, causing itchy, smelling, flaking skin (usually from wet areas)
macrop def + e.g.
- Eukaryotic multicellular organisms visible with naked 👀 (ecto = external, endo = internal)
- e.g. Tapeworm disease - caused by Taenia saginata which causes malnutrition, diarrhoea & weight loss
fungi sz
4 μm (uni
cellular)
(check)
macrop sz
> 1mm
epidem disease case study
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
West Africa
2013-2016
origin of ebola
- Handling wild animals (e.g. in the ⚫ market), e.g. fruit 🦇
- In Dec 2013, in a small village in Guinea, the Ebola virus left its traditional host—probably a 🦇—and infected a young 👦🏻
ebola pathology
-> responsible path
caused by viruses in the Ebolavirus and Filoviridae families
- Zaire ebolavirus species is 1 of the 5 species in the genus Ebolavirus & is the most fatal (contains 7 distinct proteins of large molecules arranged in a long, braided strand of negative RNA)
ebola key sympt
- Incubation period 2-21 days
- Initial: Fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat
- Severe: vomiting, rash, diarrhoea, impaired kidney + liver function, internal/external bleeding
ebola transmission
Initially transmitted to human from an infected animal (vector), and continues to spread through a population by direct human-to-human contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) - come in contact with bodily fluids
adaptations of ebola
In early 2014, Ebola virus picked up a mutation called A82V, which made it worse at infecting 🦇 cells, but better at infecting 👨🦱 ones
A82V doubles the Ebola virus’s ability to infiltrate 👨🦱 cells
environmental or societal factors that contributed to the spread of ebola
- Population density (esp high density slum areas, markets, etc)
- Highly mobile communities
- Lack of Public Health infrastructure
- Cultural beliefs and behavioural practices (e.g. burial ceremonies where mourners come into direct contact with the infected body, which can further spread the virus)
ebola treatment? effectiveness?
- Currently no cure
- Patients supported with oral and intravenous fluids + treatment of specific symptoms
- 2016 successful highly protective rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine but pricing/distribution is a problem