Communicable diseases

Disease
• Condition that cause the host (animal or plant)
to have difficulty with normal functioning.
Condition that IMPAIRS normal functioning
of an ORGANISM
• PATHOGEN- organism that causes the disease.
E.g. Bacteria, Virus, Fungi and Protoctista.
• Communicable disease- disease that can be
spread between organisms. AKA infectious
diseases
You need to know the following…
 Tuberculosis (TB)
• Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection
spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the
coughs or sneezes of an infected person.
• It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any
part of the body, including the tummy
(abdomen) glands, bones and nervous system.
• TB is a serious condition, but it can be cured if
it's treated with the right
 Symptoms:
• a persistent cough that lasts more than three
weeks and usually brings up phlegm, which may
be bloody
• weight loss
• night sweats
• high temperature (fever)
• tiredness and fatigue
• loss of appetite
• swellings in the neck
• TB is a bacterial infection. TB that affects the lungs (pulmonary
TB) is the most contagious type, but it usually only spreads after
prolonged exposure to someone with the illness.
• In most healthy people, the body's natural defence against
infection and illness (the immune system) kills the bacteria and
there are no symptoms.
• Sometimes the immune system can't kill the bacteria, but
manages to prevent it spreading in the body.
• You won't have any symptoms, but the bacteria will remain in
your body. This is known as latent TB. People with latent TB aren't
infectious to others.
• If the immune system fails to kill or contain the infection, it can
spread within the lungs or other parts of the body and symptoms
will develop within a few weeks or months. This is known as
active TB.
• Latent TB could develop into an active TB disease at a later date,
particularly if your immune system becomes weakened.
 Increase risk:
• Over crowded living conditions
• Infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS and weakens the immune
system
DECREASE:
• Avoid over-crowded conditions
• BCG vaccine offers protection against TB
• Avoid contamination
TB education is necessary for people with TB. People with TB need to know
how to take their TB drugs properly. They also need to know how to make
sure that they do not pass TB on to other people. But TB education is also
necessary for the general public. The public needs to know basic information
about TB for a number of reasons including reducing the stigma still
associated with TB. More on http://www.tbfacts.org/tb-prevention/ -visit this
website! Its really good.
 Bacterial meningitis
• Meningitis is an infection of the protective
membranes that surround the brain and spinal
cord (meninges).
• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Meningitis/Pag
es/Introduction.aspx
• https://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/bacterial.ht
ml
• http://www.healthline.com/health/bacterial-
meningitis-causes-and-how-they-re-spread
 Increase:
• Infected person directly transmitting the
disease- sneezing, coughing, kissing, sharing
utensils and personal possessions e.g.
cigarettes.
• Close proximity
DECEASE
• Avoid mentioned above.
• Vaccination
 Ring rot
• ing rot is caused by the bacterium Clavibacter
michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus. The
disease is favoured by cooler climates and,
already established in northern and Eastern
Europe, could readily establish under UK
conditions. - See more at:
https://potatoes.ahdb.org.uk/media-gallery/d
etail/13214/2655#sthash.KFzOX2so.dpuf
• Direct transmission form diseased to healthy
plant
• Indirect- survive at least a month on
machinery
 Increase
• Infected machinery/ equipment- cross
infection
Decrease
• Implement good hygiene practices. Regular
cleaning and disinfection of all machinery,
equipment, containers and storage facilities is
recommended
 HIV/AIDS
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus, commonly
known as HIV, is a virus that affects the immune
system by destroying white blood cells known as
CD4 cells. These cells are responsible for fighting
disease. The reduction of CD4 cells prevents a
person’s body from fighting infections.
• HIV is a lifelong disease for which there is
currently no cure. However, the virus can be
controlled with proper medical treatment.
 Websites for more info
• http://www.medwiser.org/hiv-aids/facts-over
view/what-is-hiv-aids/
• http://www.careinternational.org.uk/fighting-
poverty/empowering-women-and-girls/educat
ing-girls
• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/HIV/Pages/Intr
oduction.aspx
 Increase risk
• Poor sex education/ unsafe sex
• Sharing unhygienic needles
• (sharing body fluids)
Decrease:
• Good healthcare- anti-HIV drugs
• Clean sterile needles
• Protected sex- condoms
• Good health education- inform people how HIV is
transmitted and how to avoid
 Influenza
• Common infectious viral illness spread by coughs and sneezes. It can be
very unpleasant, but you'll usually begin to feel better within about a week.
• You can catch flu – short for influenza – all year round, but it's especially
common in winter, which is why it's also known as "seasonal flu".
• It's not the same as the common cold. Flu is caused by a different group of
viruses and the symptoms tend to start more suddenly, be more severe and
last longer.
• Some of the main symptoms of flu include:
• a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above
• tiredness and weakness
• a headache
• general aches and pains
• a dry, chesty cough
• How you catch flu
• The flu virus is contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of
the nose and mouth when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes.
• These droplets typically spread about one metre. They hang suspended
in the air for a while before landing on surfaces, where the virus can
survive for up to 24 hours.
• Anyone who breathes in the droplets can catch flu. You can also catch
the virus by touching the surfaces that the droplets have landed on if you
pick up the virus on your hands and then touch your nose or mouth.
• Everyday items at home and in public places can easily become
contaminated with the flu virus, including food, door handles, remote
controls, handrails, telephone handsets and computer keyboards.
Therefore, it's important to wash your hands frequently.
• You can catch flu many times, because flu viruses change regularly and
your body won't have natural resistance to the new versions.
• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/Pages/Introduction.aspx
 Increase risk
• Deforestation and farming- disrupt birds
migratory patterns.
 Prevention
• regularly cleaning surfaces such as your
computer keyboard, telephone and door
handles to get rid of germs
• using tissues to cover your mouth and nose
when you cough or sneeze
• putting used tissues in a bin as soon as possible
• Vaccinated – vulnerable people – older and
younger.
Tabaco mosaic virus
 Affects plants
• It’s a virus that is spread from contaminated
tools or diseased plants
• Decrease spread- keeping plants spaced out,
clean/ sterile equipment.
• Increase- cramped/ over-crowded living
conditions, contaminated equipment.
 Black sigatoka
• Affects banana plants
• Fungus
• Spores can be air and water dispensed
• Increase spread- warmer, wetter, windy
climates, movement of infected plant material
or my infected fungal spores.
• Decrease- reduce the wind and crowded
conditions
 Ring worm
• Fungus that affects cattle
• Spores can remain alive for many years in dry
conditions. Direct contact or spore
contaminated equipment- indirect- can
spread.
• Increase- unclean equipment
• Decrease- cleaning equipment carefully,
isolating infected cattle
 Athletes foot
• Humans
• Fungus
• Symptoms include a scaly rash that usually causes
itching, stinging, and burning. People with athlete's
foot can have moist, raw skin between their toes.
• Treatment involves topical antifungal medications.
• Spread directly from person to person, or
indirectly- contact with material that has been in
contact with an infected person- such as towels.
• Increase- bare foot in public places (such as
swimming centres or sports changing rooms),
touching infected person, sweaty unclean feet,
• Decrease- wearing clean socks, cleaning feet
regularly and any surfaces that have come into
contact with the fungal spores, clean towels…,
not sharing towels
 Malaria
• Protoctist
• Infects animals, including humans
• Directly transmitted- spread via an
intermediate- vector mosquito- feeds on
blood- don’t cause malaria themselves.
• Increase- hot warm climate- ideal breeding
conditions for vector, in contact with
mosquito- spread the protoctists,
• Decrease- vaccination, safety nets, pesticides,
clothing, insect repellents.
 Direct transmission
Requires physical contact between the infected
person and a susceptible person.
e.g. shaking of hands, sexual intercourse and
kissing.
Diseases spread exclusively by direct contact are
unable to survive for significant periods of time
away from a host.
e.g. of disease spread by direct contact- HIV/AIDs-
fresh body fluids, colds, influenza, TB
 Indirect transmission
• Where a susceptible person is infected from contact
with a contaminated surface. These can survive for
longer outside a host. Frequent touch surfaces
include:
• Door handles
• Transport handles
• Towels
• Floors of changing rooms.
• E.g. of diseases- Athletes foot, ringworm, common
cold and flu.
 Disease spread by vectors (type of indirect
transmission)
• Vectors are organisms that are capable of transmitting
diseases. Examples are badger, fleas and mosquitos.
• Mosquitos transfer disease through saliva which comes
into contact with their hosts when they are
withdrawing blood.
• As vectors are mobile they increase the range of the
disease. Insects can act as vectors when micro-
organisms attach to their mouth parts when feeding.
• E.g. malaria, plague, TB
 Diseases spread by spores
• Fungi release spores that often travel in the air
to find a new host.
• E.g. potato blight
Living conditions and the spread of disease

• Shanty towns and slums around the world,

wherever there is a natural disaster, you find
many of the conditions which lead to easy
spread of disease.
• People are displaced from their homes and
living in over-crowded conditions.
• Damaged sewage systems and water supplies
meant water is often contaminated with
sewage- e.g. cholera outbreak
• Damaged electrical supplies mean fridges
don’t work, so food goes off quickly and
bacteria often contaminate foods.
• Malaria mosquitos may breed in standing
water
• Health services are disrupted so diseases
cannot be treated quickly so they spread fast.