'24.

Infectious diseases

Q&A

What are the causes of infectious diseases?

傳染病的成因是什麼 ?

Infectious diseases (transmissible diseases) are caused by infection of

pathogens. Pathogens

include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists and multicellular parasites. The

activities of the pathogens

harm the host.

傳染病是由感染病原體引起，病原體包括病毒、細菌，真菌、原⽣⽣物和
多細胞寄⽣蟲。病
原體的活動對⾝體造成破壞。
State the different types of pathogens and cite example of the diseases.
說出各種病原體並舉出⼀些病例。

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 State the different routes of infectious diseases transmission.
說出各種傳染病的傳播途徑。
Routes of transmission: Air, Droplets, Water, Food, Vector, Body fluids,
Direct contact

傳播途徑: 空氣、⾶沬、⽔、⾷物、媒介、體液、直接接觸
Explain the following routes of infectious diseases transmission with suitable
example, and state the
control measures. ⽤例⼦解釋下列各種傳染病的傳播途徑，並說出適當的控制
措施。
Air 空氣
Droplets ⾶沬
Water⽔
Food⾷物

Vector媒介

Body fluids體液
Direct contact 直接接觸

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 What are antibiotics?
抗⽣素是什麼?
They are chemicals produced by various fungi and bacteria, which
suppress the growth of other

microorganisms or even kill it, thus reducing the competition for

resources. eg. penicillin.

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 抗⽣素是由不同的真菌及細菌所產⽣的化學物品，它可抑制其他微⽣物的
⽣⻑，甚或殺死它
們，減低資源上的競爭，讓⾃⼰得以⽣存，例如⻘黴素。
How do antibiotics kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria?
抗⽣素如何殺死或抑制細菌的⽣⻑ ?

Antibiotic like penicllin can inhibit the synthesis of bacterial cell wall.
Because bacterial cells are

prokaryotic, the adverse effects of antibiotics will not happen on the

eukaryotic cells of the host and so

antibiotics may be safely used throughout the body. Other antibiotics

may interfere DNA, RNA, protein

synthesis and cellular metabolism of the microorganisms. They can be

used as a drug inside our body to

inhibit the bacterial growth.

抗⽣素如⻘黴素能抑制細菌胞壁的合成，因為細菌是原核⽣物，⻘黴素的
不良作⽤不會發⽣
於宿主的真核細胞中，故抗⽣素可提全使⽤於⼈體中，其他的抗⽣素可⼲
擾微⽣物的DNA、
RNA、蛋⽩合成及代謝作⽤，它們皆可⽤於抑制體內的細菌⽣⻑。

What are the consequences of indiscriminate use of antibiotics?

濫⽤抗⽣素有什麼後果 ?

Development of antibiotic resistance bacteria.

產⽣能抵抗抗⽣素的超級細菌
Previously treatable diseases may become untreatable.

以前可治的病變成不治。
Development of new antibiotics needs time and a lot of resources.

研製新藥需時及⼤量資源。
Antibiotics kill beneficial bacteria in our body as well and this may
promote the growth of pathogens.

抗⽣素會同時殺死體內的有益細菌，從⽽促進病原體的⽣⻑。

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 How do use antibiotics properly?
說出正確使⽤抗⽣素的⽅法。
(1) Use antibiotics only when they are truly needed.

有真正需要時才使⽤抗⽣素。
(2) Complete the course of antibiotics as advised by the doctors even
though there is an apparent recover

from the disease.

按醫⽣指⽰完成整個療程，即就算覺得已復原，也該繼續吃藥，直⾄吃完
所有藥為⽌。
(3) Develops new drugs or alternative treatment.

研發新藥物或其他療法。
What are Sulpha drugs?
磺胺類藥物是什麼 ?

Sulpha drugs can stop bacteria from reproduction and growth. It is an

effective drug in the treatment of

bacterial infections. This is because its structure is similar to some

metabolite in the bacteria. Hence, it

competes with the normal metabolite for the active site of bacterial
enzymes. As a result, the bacterial

enzymatic reaction slows down and growth of bacteria is inhibited.

磺胺類能抑制細菌的⽣⻑和繁殖，它是有效的抗菌藥物，因它的結構和細
菌的某些代謝物相
似，它會和細菌的代謝物爭奪細菌內某些酶的活性部位。結果，細菌的酶
促作⽤減慢，細菌的⽣⻑受到抑制。
Explain the use of cocktail therapy in treatment of AIDS?

解釋「雞尾酒療法」如何醫治愛滋病。
It involves the taking a number of drugs at the same time that target
different points in the reproductive

process of HIV. These drugs are effective in suppressing the replication

of viral proteins and the synthesis of

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 viral DNA (also prevent the virus to develop drug resistance). It relieves
the symptoms and let the patients live longer.

「雞尾酒療法」醫治愛滋病，這是同時使⽤多種藥物，針對HIV繁殖過程
中不同的環節。這
些藥物能有效地抑制病毒蛋⽩質和遺傳物質的合成(同時防⽌病毒發展抗
藥性)，減輕症狀，讓病⼈存活多年。

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