preventing and fighting disease

• the spread of disease can be...

  reduced or prevented
• what are ways to reduce/prevent disease?

  - being hygienic

  - clean water

  - destroying vectors

  - isolating infected individuals

  - vaccination

  - condoms
• what can be done to prevent fungal diseases?

  good hygiene
• what can be done to prevent viral diseases?

  vaccination
• what can be done to prevent protist diseases?

  destroying vectors
• what can be done to prevent bacterial diseases?

  good hygiene
• how can pathogens enter the body?

  - direct contact

  - indirect contact

  - droplets

  - airborne

  - oral
• how can direct contact transmission be prevented?

  social distancing, isolation, gloves, disinfection, sterilisation, good hygiene
• how can indirect contact transmission be prevented?

  masks, disinfection, sterilisation, isolation
• how can droplet transmission be prevented?

  disinfection, sterilisation, filtration
• how can airborne transmission be prevented?

  masks, filtration
• how can oral transmission be prevented?

  masks, filtration
• bacterial disease treatment


  antibiotics
• viral disease treatment


  antiviral medications
• protist disease treatment


  antibiotics
• fungal disease treatment


  antifungal medications
• measles prevention


  vaccination
• measles treatment


  no specific medical treatment, though drink lots of water and get plenty of rest
• HIV prevention


  use of condoms and sterile needles
• HIV treatment


  Antiretroviral medicines
• TMV prevention


  good field hygiene and pest control, growing TMV-resistant strains
• TMV treatment


  no treatment, though destroy infected plants to prevent transmission
• rose black spot prevention

  fungicides and removing infected leaves
• rose black spot treatment

  fungicides, removing and destroying affected leaves
• malaria prevention


  mosquito control, bed nets, treat infected people
• malaria treatment


  chloroquine, artemisinin-based combination therapies
• salmonella prevention


  avoid cross contamination, maintain personal hygiene, clean workspaces, cook foods properly, keep food fresh, vaccinate animals
• salmonella treatment


  antibiotics
• gonorrhoea prevention


  using condoms
• gonorrhoea treatment


  antibiotics
• what is the role of the immune system?

  attack and destroy pathogens
• how does the skin defend against pathogens?

  it acts as a barrier. also secretes antimicrobial substances which kills pathogens and scabs when the skin is damaged
• how does hair and mucus in the nose defend against pathogens?


  they trap particles that could contain pathogens
• how does trachea and bronchi defend against pathogens?

  they secrete mucus to trap pathogens and are lined with cilia, which are hair-like structures that waft the mucus up to the back of the throat where it can be swallowed
• how does the stomach defend against pathogens?

  it produces hydrochloric acid which kills pathogens.
• how does the immune system attack pathogens?

  white blood cells travel around in the blood and are constantly patrolling for microbes. when they come across an invading microbe, they can:

  - consume them

  - produce antibodies

  - produce antitoxins
• how do white blood cells consume pathogens?

  they can engulf foreign cells and digest them with enzymes - this is called phagocytosis
• what blood cells that perform phagocytosis are called...

  phagocytes
• what do white blood cells' antibodies do?

  - every invading pathogen has unique molecules (antigens) on its surface

  - when some types of white blood cells come across a foreign antigen they will start to produce proteins called antibodies to lock onto the invading cells so that they can be found and destroyed by other white blood cells - the antibodies produced are specific to that type of antigen (they won't lock onto any others)

  - antibodies are then produced rapidly and carried around the body to find all similar bacteria or viruses

  - if the person is infected with the same pathogen again the white blood cells will rapidly produce the antibodies to kill it: the person is naturally immune to that pathogen and won't get ill
• what are antibodies?


  substances created in the body to attack specific foreign substances called antigens.