immunology

• Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae, which is a gram-negative bacterium.
• Vibrio cholerae damages small intestine tissues.
• Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water, sewage, or bad hygiene.
• Symptoms of cholera include: watery diarrhoea, dehydration
• tuberculosis is caused by bacillus bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis
• tuberculosis is transmitted through aerosol droplets
• tuberculosis affects the lung tissues
• tuberculosis symptoms include: chest pain, coughing up blood, inflamed lymph nodes
• BCG vaccines are available for tuberculosis
• antibiotics are available for tuberculosis too
• Smallpox is caused by a virus called Variola major
• smallpox is transmitted through aerosol droplets or close contact
• smallpox symptoms include: high fever, fatigue
• smallpox is presented as rashes filled with clear fluid and pus
• smallpox vaccines are effective due to variola major's low antigenic variation
• influenza is caused by the influenza virus
• influenza virus has two antigens: haemagglutinin and neuraminidase
• haemagglutinin is used for the entry of the virus into the host cell
• neuraminidase is used to leave the host cell
• influenza is transmitted through aerosol droplets and is protected by mucus
• influenza is seasonal as the virus is more likely to survive in winter due to dry conditions and low UV
• influenza affects the lining of the upper respiratory tract
• neuraminidase breaks down protective layers on the lining of the tract and exposes the epithelium
• influenza can cause secondary infection when protective layers broken down, which can be treated by antibiotics
• influenza can be prevented by wearing masks and washing hands
• aspirin is used for relief in influenza
• cholera can be prevented with good hygiene and treatment of contaminated water
• cholera treatment is based mostly on rehydration
• malaria is caused by a protoctist named Plasmodium
• malaria is endemic to sub-tropical areas
• endemic means always present at a low level in a certain area
• anopheles mosquito acts as vector for transmission of malaria
• when the anopheles mosquito feeds on the human, they inject saliva containing sporozoites into human blood. the sporozoites then travel to the liver and reproduce asexually to form merozoites. the merozoites will burst and infect red blood cells in the blood stream, reproducing even more. the merozoites will eventually and be released, causing fever each time. some merozoites will become gametocytes
• when mosquito feeds on blood from an infected host, the sporozoites will travel to the gut, and travel back to the salivary glands when they become mature.
• antigenic drift or shift is possible as there are no proofreading enzymes during RNA replication
• antigenic drift is caused by an accumulation of mutations
• antigenic shift occurs when two antigenic types cross to form an entirely new antigenic type
• epidemic is when there is a significant increase in usual number of cases of a disease, associated with a rapid spread
• in lytic cycle, the virus reproduces using the host's metabolism by copying their nucleic acid and synthesising a new coat
• lytic cycle ends in the release of the replicated virus and the lysis of the host cell