Disease Essay Plans

Question 1

DISEASE: ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Answer 1

JENNER:
- Realised Cowpox cowpox antibodies protect against Smallpox - 1796
#Helped eradicate smallpox by 1980.
#Development of vaccines meant deadly diseases could be prevented, especially those with high infant mortality

KOCH:
- Identified specific microbes which caused illnesses E.g. TB or Cholera
- Able to explain how vaccines work and prove John Snow’s link between cholera and water
#Helped validate germ theory and vaccines, meaning they were developed more
#Koch developed multiple vaccines

EHRLICH:
- Developed the magic bullet - chemical treatment that targeted specific microbes. Developed one for Syphilis in 1909
~ He was KOCH’s student
#1932 Domack developed prontosil, stops blood poisoning
#1935 Doctors realised it had antibiotic properties, stopped bacteria multiplying

Question 2

DISEASE: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Answer 2

P & M CURIE:
- Their work on radioactivity led to the X Ray in the mid 1900s
- This allowed doctors to look inside a patient and diagnose disease while they’re still alive - groundbreaking
#Led to the MRI in the 70s, provided a better view of soft tissue. Still used to diagnose disease

MICROSCOPE:
- Significant contribution by Leeuwenhoek - 300x magnification. By 1676 Leeuwenhoek reported microorganisms
#Although cause of disease still debated for 160 years, provided evidence
#Koch developed this using microscopes and agar. Identifying specific microbes with staining.
#Koch used photographs to spread this knowledge to other scientists

Question 3

DISEASE: GOVERNMENT AND FINANCE

Answer 3

1665 PLAGUE:
- London Mayor used the new tech of Printing Press to spread the word of the Plague through broadsheets of the Plague Orders and Bills of Mortality
#First time government actively helped the public avoid disease.
#Whilst poor could do little, middle + upper classes could leave

NHS:
- Introduced in 1948, the first free vaccination programme in Britain: 1954 Diphtheria 1955 Polio 1964 Measles
#The government was actively trying to prevent the spread of disease rather than just curing it, significantly lowering child mortality

Question 4

DISEASE: COMMUNICATION

Answer 4

LISTER:
- Read about discovery by Pasteur’s team that diphtheria caused a toxin that poisoned the body. He read about the antitoxin produced by Koch’s team in medical journals
#As a result, involved in introduction of the antitoxin to the UK.
#Next 10 years from 1886 mortality rate fell by 50%

1665 PLAGUE:
- London Mayor used the new tech of Printing Press to spread the word of the Plague through broadsheets of the Plague Orders and Bills of Mortality
#First time government actively helped the public avoid disease.
#Whilst poor could do little, middle + upper classes could leave

Question 5

DISEASE: WAR

Answer 5

FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR 1871:
- As a result of the war, Pasteur and Koch were rivals.
- This developed into a medical arms race where they tried to out do each other’s discoveries
- 1879 Pasteur and Chamberland proved how vaccines worked Chicken Cholera (CCC)
- 1881 Koch developed vaccine for Anthrax
#Rivalry meant developments in Germ Theory and vaccination. Without this - less vaccines and millions of lives lost

Question 6

DISEASE: LUCK/CHANCE

Answer 6

HUNTER:
- Self experimented with Gonorrhoea using discharge, accidentally found he also had Syphilis
#Although probably killed him, proved you could have two diseases. This was important to establish for treating disease

Fleming:
- Investigating the staphylococcus microbe. Left an agar plate out whilst on holiday. Returned to find it died and a penicillin spore killed it growing there which floated from another laboratory
#He didn’t develop Penicillin further, but F+C did. First step in creating the first antibiotic.
#Current treatment of syphilis is based on penicillin