Topic 12.

Disease and immunity

12.1 Disease
Learning objectives:

o Define pathogen
o Define transmissible disease
o Explain how pathogen are transmitted directly and indirectly.
o Describe the human’s body barrier to the entry of pathogen
o Explain the role of the mosquito as a vector of disease
o Describe the control of the mosquito that transmits malaria with reference to its life cycle
o Explain that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a viral pathogen
o Describe how HIV is transmitted
o Understand that HIV infection may lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
o Describe the methods by which HIV may be controlled
o Describe cholera as a disease caused by a bacterium
o Explain the importance of a clean water supply, hygienic food preparation, good personal
hygiene, waste disposal and sewage treatment in controlling the spread of cholera
o Explain that the cholera bacterium produces a toxin
o Describe the effects of excessive consumption of alcohol
o Describe the effects of tobacco smoke and its major toxic components

PATHOGEN

o Pathogen is a disease causing organisms which include many bacteria, viruses and some fungi, as
well as several Protoctista and other organisms
o This pathogen may damage the host’s cells or produces toxins that can disturb the host’s cells
body.
o These pathogens can cause raised in temperature, headache, tiredness and weakness, and
sometime diarrhea and vomiting.

Transmissible disease

o a disease in which the pathogen can be passed from one host to another.
o Pathogen responsible for these diseases can be spread through direct contact or Indirect contact.
How are pathogen transmitted? (or how are diseases spread?)

a) Through direct contact

This may involve transfer of pathogen through blood or other body fluids.
Example: Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is commonly transfer through sharing of infected
needles between drug addicts or through transfer of infected fluids during sexual intercourse.

b) Through indirect contact

This may involve infection from pathogen on:
contaminated surfaces or
From the air from animals.
food,

For example: if raw meat is
prepared on a surface that is
then used for cutting up
fruits or vegetables that
eaten raw later, then the
pathogen from the meat can
be transfer to the fresh
fruits.
This is called airborne,
droplet or aerosol infection
where when we sneeze,
cough, laugh or just breath
out we send a fine spray of
liquid into the air. They may
be breath in by other people
or fall onto contaminated
surfaces.
For Example: flies that walk
about on food may carry
bacteria on their feet which
they might get when landing
on decaying food or human
faeces.
Food poisoning and polio can
be spread by houseflies

Human barrier to the entry of pathogen

1) Mechanical barrier: This include our skin, hairs in the nose help to filter out bacteria that are
breath in.
2) Chemical barrier: This include acid in the stomach which destroy most bacteria that may be taken
in with food. Mucus which is produced by the lining of trachea and bronchi traps many bacteria.
Mosquitoes and malaria

About 219 millions people suffer from

malaria in 87 countries (Fig 1.1). In
2017, there were estimated 435 000
malaria deaths according to the
World Health Organization.

Fig 1.1: The worldwide distribution of malaria

❖ Malaria is a disease that is caused by a protozoan parasite called plasmodium.

Parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its
host.

❖ It is spread from a person to a person by the bites of infected mosquitoes, female anopheles’
mosquito.
❖ Mosquito is said to be the vector of malaria

Vector is a living organism that transmits an infectious agent from an infected animal to a human or
another animal.

How does mosquitoes transmit malaria parasite?

3 )After 2 weeks daughter cells
2) Parasites in the saliva break out of liver cells and invade
reach the liver via circulatory red blood cells.
system & reproduce.
Here, they reproduce again and
invade other red blood cells

1)Infected mosquito
bites a human and 4) If another mosquito bites this
injects its saliva into the infected person, it will take up the
capillary parasite in the red blood cell.

This parasite will reproduce in

mosquito and invade its salivary
glands, ready to infect another
person.
Symptoms of malaria disease

When the parasite plasmodium is released from the thousands of red blood cells, the patients experience
symptoms violent shivering, fever, profuse sweating.

With so many red blood cells being destroyed, the patient will also become anemic.

CONTROL OF MALARIA

❖ Use drugs that kill the parasite in the bloodstream.

❖ Spraying stagnant water with oil and insecticides will kill the mosquitoes’ larvae.
❖ Draining swamps and other mosquitoes breeding ground.
❖ Sterilizing male mosquitoes by exposing them to radiation so the next generation fails.
❖ Prevent from getting bitten by mosquitoes: use bright colours, netting, insect repellents.

AIDS and HIV

AIDS stands for Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. (Syndrome is a pattern of symptoms associated
with a particular disease.

Symptoms associated with HIV

Virus that causes AIDS is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Transmission of HIV

❖ Spread by direct infection of the blood

❖ By sharing of needles especially in drug users.
❖ Share through sexual activity between men an women if they are infected and have sex without
using condoms or femidoms
❖ Babies born to HIV carrier may also become infected with HIV.

Control of the spread of HIV

❖ Avoid having sexual intercourse with an infected person.

❖ Avoid from having multiple sexual partner.
❖ Use condoms during sexual intercourse.
❖ Do not share contaminated needles
❖ Getting tested and treated for HIV

CHOLERA

Cholera is a disease cause by a

bacterium which is transmitted in
contaminated water

It is cause by a bacteria called vibrio

Cholera

It is mostly spread by unsafe water

and food.

Cholera causes diarrhea.

Controlling the spread of cholera and other diseases

Clean water supply

Bacteria that comes from faeces in the stream & rivers may be carried into reservoirs of water used for
drinking. If disease bacteria get into water supplies use for drinking, hundreds of people can get infected.

To prevent this, drinking water must be purified and faeces must be made harmless though process of
water treatment. During this treatment, microorganisms are removed by filtration and chlorination.
Chlorine kills the microorganisms.

Hygienic food preparation

Salmonella bacteria is one of the common cause of food poisoning. Bacteria comes from meat and milk is
usually killed when meat is cooked, or milk is pasteurized.

Infection is most likely to happen when meat is not properly cooked, milk is not treated or when frozen
food is not properly defrost.

To prevent this from happening, all milk should be pasteurized, meat should be thoroughly cooked, wash
your hands when handling raw meat and handling cooked food.

Good personal hygiene

Salmonella bacteria that cause thypoid, are present in faeces of infected person. These might reach food
from the unwashed hands of the infected person.

So it’s important to wash our hands before handling food or before eating.

Waste disposals

Waste from domestic or commercial need to be keep in close bins to keep out flies or scavenging animals.
If this is not done, pathogen will breed in the waste and become source of diseases organism.

The waste is taken away and disposed by burning or burying deep in the ground.

Sewage treatment

Sewage contains bacteria including cholera bacteria, from the human intestine that can be harmful.

These bacteria must be destroyed to prevent the spread of intestinal disease, especially cholera. So
people need to make their sewage harmless in a sewage treatment before discharging them to the river.

A sewage works remove solid, liquids waste from the sewage so the water leaving the works is safe to
drink. The process of chlorination also kills bacteria in the water.
Treatment of cholera

❖ Treatment involve rehydration and replacements of salts lost.

❖ Used antibiotics to kill the bacteria.

How cholera causes diarrhea

❖ When the bacteria are ingested they reproduce in the small intestine and invade its epithelial
cells.
❖ These bacteria release toxins (poisons) which irritate the lining of the intestine. This results in the
secretion of large amount of water and salts, including chloride ions.
❖ The salts including chloride ions, decreases the water potential of the small intestine, attracting
more water from the surrounding tissues and blood.
❖ This make the undigested much more watery, leading to serious diarrhea.
❖ The lost of water may lead to dehydration and kidney failure.