| Define communicable and non-communicable diseases | Communicable diseases are spread from person to person by pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, such as measles, whereas non-communicable diseases cannot be passed from person to person such as coronary heart disease |
| What are pathogens? | Pathogens are microorganisms that cause infectious diseases |
| Define health and state what health-factors cause disease | Health is defined as the state of physical, mental and social well-being.
Health factors that can cause diseases include HIV/AIDS, obesity, a poor diet, high levels of stress, substance abuse, a lack of physical activity, environmental quality, and mental health. |
| Give an example of one diseases increasing the risk of contracting another | Most people who contract tuberculosis are able to fight it off through their immune system however people who have HIV, have a defective immune system, and are more prone to suffering from infectious diseases, therefore, HIV increases the risk of contracting other diseases such as tuberculosis. |
| Give an example of one disease that causes another disease | HPV (Human papilloma virus) is an extremely common, essentially harmless disease for most, however for some people, HPV can cause cervical cancer to develop, around 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK, therefore, HPV can cause other diseases such as cervical cancer. |
| Describe what happens when diseases are triggered by the immune system | When diseases are triggered by the immune system such as asthma, the body is infected with a pathogen which the immune system fights off which leaves the person with a contracted allergy. |
| Give an example of a physical illness triggering a mental illness | Those who suffer from the joint condition of arthritis often have difficulty in mobility and conforming to societal norms which can sometimes lead to isolated and depressed conditioning, therefore, physical illnesses such as arthritis can trigger mental illnesses such as depression |
| Define pathogens, and state the four forms of pathogens | Pathogens are microorganisms that cause infectious diseases, pathogens come in the form of bacteria, viruses, protists and fungi |
| How does bacteria make people ill? | Once inside the human body bacteria reproduces rapidly with divisions usually happening every 20 minutes. Once bacteria have replicated to an extent it begins to release toxins, the toxins then damage bodily tissue which make us feel ill. |
| Why can’t viruses reproduce like bacteria? And describe how viruses reproduce | Viruses can’t reproduce by themselves, they can only reproduce inside a host cell.
When viruses reproduce they first have to invade a host cell then reproduce inside that host cell, which is damaging to the cell as when the virus leaves it can cause the cell to burst open and die |
| How do pathogens spread? | Some pathogens are spread in the air such as water droplets which cause influenza
Other pathogens are spread directly in water such as cholera pathogens
Some pathogens are spread through direct contact between people such as drug users sharing infected needles causing HIV |
| How can the spread of pathogens be reduced? | The spread of pathogens can be reduced through washing your hands before eating, providing people with clean drinking water because water contains chlorine which kills microbes, through reducing direct contact between people, such as using condoms during sexual intercourse, and through vaccinations.
Once diseases are contracted patients may be isolated to stop the
spread fo diseases such as the highly infectious ebola. |
| What are the symptoms of measles? and how can it be treated | The first symptom of measles is a fever, after 3 days a red skin rash develops, and it’s spread through inhaling water droplets which are exposed in sneezing or coughing
measles can be treated with compulsory vaccinations commonly given to children |
| How is Salmonella spread? | Salmonella is caused by bacteria spread through ingesting infected food, the salmonella bacteria secrete toxins that cause the symptoms of the disease. |
| How is the spread of salmonella controlled? | As salmonella bacteria can be found in poultry, all chickens in the UK are vaccinated against salmonella which controls the spread of the disease. |
| How is gonorrhoea spread? and what are the symptoms for gonorrhoea? | Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted disease and it's
symptoms include a thick yellow/green discharge and pain when urinating |
| How is the spread of gonorrhoea prevented? | The spread of gonorrhoea can be stopped in two main ways: firstly, by wearing condoms during sexual intercourse to prevent the spread of bacteria and secondly by testing for the disease if you fear you may have contracted it so you can be treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria. |
| What are the symptoms for Salmonella? | The symptoms of salmonella are a fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea |
