Infectious Disease
Bacteria: Friend or Enemy?
WHAT IS AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE?
Pathogens:
Bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, called pathogens are capable of causing a change that disrupts the homeostasis in the body.
Any disease caused by the presence of pathogens in the body is called an infectious disease. The main sources of pathogens are soil, contaminated water, and infected animals, including other people
Good Bacteria:
Not all microorganisms are pathogenic; your body is host to billions of microorganisms, most of which are bacteria. These microorganisms have a symbiotic relationship with your body helping to keep harmful bacteria and other microorganisms from growing.
Good Bacteria:
If beneficial organisms are eliminated from your body, pathogens can establish themselves and cause infectious disease. In addition, if beneficial organisms enter areas of the body where they are not normally found, these formerly harmless organisms can become potential pathogens
Common Diseases caused by Pathogens:
Disease Cause Affected Organ Transmission
Smallpox Virus Skin Droplet
Influenza Virus Respiratory system Direct contact
HIV/AIDS Virus Immune system Body Fluid
Hepatitis B Virus Liver Body Fluid
Tetanus Bacteria Nervous system Puncture Wound
Strep Throat Bacteria Respiratory system Droplet
Tuberculosis Bacteria Respiratory Droplet
Strep Throat:
RESERVOIRS OF PATHOGENS
Carriers:
Main source of human disease pathogens is the human body.
People may or may not display symptoms of the illness.
Animals are the other main reservoir for pathogens, making the eradication of certain pathogens almost impossible.
TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE
Transmission Pathogens can be transmitted to a host from a
reservoir four main ways; 1. By direct contact; exchange of body fluid2. By an object; people handle contaminate objects
then touch face, nose, eyes, etc…3. Through the air; person coughs or sneezes
spreading droplets which are then inhaled4. By a vector; insects such as mosquitos, ticks
spread pathogens between hosts or reservoirs
Bats are carriers of rabies, an infectious disease:
Mosquitoes carry many infectious diseases:
Viruses:
Shape: multisided Structure: contains DNA or RNA, no
cytoplasm or organelles, Composed of cells: no Treatments: none, only preventions (antiviral,
vaccines) Not considered to be alive, must have a host
cell; but destroys the cell
Examples of diseases: flu, common cold (can mutate into different forms), viral meningitis, HIV-AIDS, polio, chicken pox
Flu virus
Bacteria: Shapes: spheres, rods, spirals Structure: single celled with a cell wall and
and organelles but no nuclei Composed of cells: yes Treatments: antibiotics, Preventions-
antibacterial, bacterial vaccines, antimicrobials
Found everywhere, can survive without a host, multiply rapidly and form colonies (100,000 = size of dime), can be helpful
Examples of diseases: tetanus, anthrax, rabies, Lyme disease, bacterial meningitis
E Coli Lyme Disease
Fungi:
Shape: numerous Structure: multi-cellular wit a cell wall and
organelles including a nucleus, but no chloroplasts
Composed of cells: yes Treatments: antifungals, antimicrobials Cannot make their own food, grown on and
feed off of organic matter; some kinds are beneficial, but others are harmful
Examples of diseases: athlete’s foot, ringworm, yeast infections
Athlete’s Foot Ringworm
Parasites:
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.
Parasites can cause disease in humans. Some parasitic diseases are easily treated and some are not.
Major types-protozoa, helminths or worms, and arthropods.
Treatment:
antibiotics prevention: drugs that can be taken as a
barrier to certain parasites. improving sanitary conditions of water and food sources, proper cooking techniques, education about personal hygiene, and control of intermediate and vector host organisms.
Protozoa
Single-celled organisms More than 45,000 species of protozoa are
known, many of which are parasitic. Cause of more suffering and death than any
other category of disease causing organisms.
dysentary
Helminths:
Wormlike organisms including nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and trematodes (flukes). Leeches and heartworms are also helminths.
tapeworm
Arthropods:
Organisms characterized by exterior skeletons and segmented bodies. Examples include the crustaceans, insects, and arachnids.
Serve as carriers of bacterial and viral diseases, as intermediate hosts for protozoan and helminth parasites, and as parasites themselves.
Mosquitoes, flies, fleas, ticks, mites