Summary

12 Infectious diseases
1 The term disease is defined as a disorder or illness that
disrupts the normal functioning of the body or mind.
Infectious diseases are caused by organisms known
as pathogens that invade the body. Non-infectious
diseases are all other diseases that are not caused by
pathogens. There are many categories of non-infectious
diseases including genetic diseases and deficiency
diseases, which are caused by malnutrition.
2 Cholera, malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB)
and measles are all examples of infectious diseases.
Smallpox was an infectious disease but was
eradicated in the late 20th century.
3 Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae
and is transmitted in water or food contaminated by
the faeces of infected people.
4 Cholera can be controlled by treating patients with
oral rehydration therapy and making sure that
human faeces do not reach the water supply. The
disease is prevented by providing clean, chlorinated
water and good sanitation.
5 Malaria is caused by four species of Plasmodium.
The most dangerous is P. falciparum. The disease is
transmitted by an insect vector: female Anopheles
mosquitoes that transfer Plasmodium from infected
to uninfected people.
6 Malaria is controlled in three main ways: by reducing
the number of mosquitoes by insecticide spraying
or draining breeding sites; by using mosquito nets
(more effective if soaked in insecticide); by using
drugs to prevent Plasmodium infecting people.
7 AIDS is a set of diseases caused by the destruction
of the immune system by infection with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is transmitted
in certain body fluids: blood, semen, vaginal
secretions and breast milk. It primarily infects
economically active members of populations in
developing countries and has an extremely adverse
effect on social and economic development.
8 The transmission of HIV can be controlled by using
barrier methods (e.g. condoms and femidoms) during
sexual intercourse. Educating people to practise safer
sex is the only control method currently available to
health authorities. Contact tracing is used to find

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people who may have contracted HIV, so that they

can be tested and counselled. Life expectancy can
be greatly extended by using combinations of drugs
which interfere with the replication of the virus.
However, such treatment is expensive, difficult to stick
to and has unpleasant side-effects. There is no vaccine
for HIV and no cure for AIDS.
9 TB is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium
tuberculosis and M. bovis.
10 M. tuberculosis is spread when people infected with the
active form of the disease release bacteria in droplets of
liquid when they cough or sneeze. Transmission occurs
when uninfected people inhale the bacteria. This is
most likely to happen where people live in overcrowded
conditions, and especially where many sleep close
together. Many people have the inactive form of TB in
their lungs, but they do not have the disease and do not
spread it. The inactive bacteria may become active in
people who are malnourished or who become infected
with HIV. M. bovis causes TB in cattle, but can be
passed to humans.
11 Drugs are used to treat people with the active form
of TB. The treatment may take nine months or more
as it is difficult to kill the bacteria. Contact tracing
is used to find people who may have caught the
disease. These people are tested for TB and treated
if found to be infected. The BCG vaccine provides
some protection against TB, but its effectiveness
varies in different parts of the world.
12 Public health measures are taken to reduce the
transmission of these diseases, but to be effective they
must be informed by a knowledge of the life cycle of
each pathogen.
13 Antibiotics are drugs that are used to treat infections
by bacteria and some fungi. They are compounds
that are made by microorganisms and modified
chemically to increase their effectiveness.
14 Antibiotics are used to inhibit the growth of pathogenic
organisms. Most are only effective against bacteria. The
widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has
led to the growth of resistant strains of bacteria. This
poses a serious challenge to the maintenance of health
services in the 21st century.

Summary: Chapter 12

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