Health

Infectious &

Noninfectious Diseases

Decisions for Health. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007.

8th Grade Health: Mr. Witt

Diseases that spread from one person to another person

o Diseases are spread from person to person through a pathogen

o Infectious Disease is any disease that is caused by agent that can

pass from one living thing to another.

o Handling objects

o Sharing food and drink

o Contact with another infected person

PATHOGEN: a disease causing microbe

VIRUSES and BACTERIA are the two most common

pathogens that cause communicable diseases

Other PATHOGENS include protozoan, fungus, and rickettsiae/parasite.

bacteria

BACTERIA: very small, single-celled organisms that are found almost everywhere

Millions of bacteria live and grow in and on your body

Each group of bacteria includes some that are pathogens, which can make toxins (or poisons) that can make you ill once they enter your body

EXAMPLES:

– Tuberculosis

– Conjunctivitis (pink eye)

– Strep Throat

– Sinusitis

VirusesVIRUSES: an extremely small

particle that consists of an outer shell and genetic material.

Viruses enter body cells and take them over

Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot reproduce by themselves.

There are few medicines to cure diseases caused by viruses

EXAMPLES:

Mononucleosis

Influenza – FLU

Common Cold

Fungus FUNGUS: microbes that

cannot make their own food

Can be spread by moisture

Skin infections are

sometimes caused by fungi

– Example:

Athlete’s Foot

Rickettsiae RICKETTSIAE: pathogens

that are carried mostly by MITES, TICKS, FLEAS, and LICE.

Rickettsia also has some characteristics of both bacteria and viruses

Example:

– Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

PRACTICE GOOD HEALTH HABITS

Wash hands before eating & after using restroom

Do not pet stray animals

Make sure food that could be spoiled is covered and

kept cold

Wash cuts and scraps with soap and warm water

Avoid close contact with people who have

communicable diseases

Cover sneezes and coughs with tissue

Control of

Communicable Disease

1) VACCINES: A substance that is used to keep a person from getting a

disease

Causes the body to make antibodies

ANTIBODIES: chemical substances that are produced by

white blood cells to keep you from getting a disease

again; essentially, identify and destroy certain kinds

of pathogens.

Controlling Diseases

IMMUNITY

Condition in which the

body is less affected by

certain pathogens due to

special cells that fight

infection.

EPIDEMIC

A widespread

occurrence of a disease

1832 in London – Cholera

antibiotics

Is a drug that kills or

slows the growth of

bacteria and rickettsiae

Common Antibiotics:

Penicillin

Ampicillin

Erythromycin

Sexually Transmitted

Infections Sexually Transmitted

Infections (STIs)

Infectious diseases that are most often passed by sexual and other closecontact

Each year more than 1 MILLION new cases of STI’s are reported in U.S.

GONORRHEA GONORRHEA

Caused by round bacteria called gonococcus that infect tissues of reproductive system

Symptoms

- Pain when urinating

- Pus from penis

- Most women do not have symptoms

If left untreated:

- Damage to reproductive organs

- Can be passed from mother to baby (blindness to baby)

Herpes simplex 2

HERPES SIMPLEX 2CAUSED BY THE HERPES SIMPLEX 2 VIRUS

Symptoms a red small, painful blisters on external

(outside) reproductive organs

Blisters may also form in a women’s vagina

Cannot be cured. Treatment with antiviral medication can

limit outbreaks and spread of virus

Left untreated, it can cause cervical cancer in women.

Syphilis

Syphilis

Caused by the Treponema pallidum bacteria

Symptoms: Sores, fever, body rash, swollen

lymph nodes

Treated with antibiotic

Not as common as gonorrhea, but more serious

Can cause:

o Paralysis

o Mental Illness

o Blindness

o Death

Painless chancre sore form on external reproductive organs where the bacteria enters

CHLAMYDIA Chlamydia

Caused by the chlamydia

trachomatis bacteria

Usually caught during

sexual intercourse with an

infected person

Symptoms:

Some people no signs

Discharge from genitals,

pain during urination, and

severe abdominal pain.

Facts

If untreated, chlamydia can

damage the reproductive organs

of men and women.

Sometimes dangerous enough

that adults cannot have

children.

If an infected mother does give

birth, she can pass chlamydia to

her baby during delivery.

Cured with antibiotics

Liver infection

A.I.D.S

AIDS

Stands for:

A= Acquired

I= Immuno -

D= Deficiency

S= Syndrome

HIV

Stands for:

H = Human

I = Immunodeficiency

V = Virus

HIV Infected Person

First case of HIV was in 1959 in Kinshasa of Africa

Simian immunodeficiency virus (found in the green monkey)

Contaminated the blood of a hunter while slaughtering a monkey for food.

May show no outward signs of being infected

May infect others

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease

Transmitted only through direct contact with certain body fluids

HIV IS TRANSMITTED

#1 Sexual intercourse with an infected person

#2 Sharing of infected needles or syringes

#3 From infected mother to baby through infected blood or breast milk

#4 By means of blood transfusions or blood products (no longer likely in the U.S.)

Symptoms of HIV

Fatigue

Fever

Chills

Night sweats

Sudden weight loss

Swollen lymph glands

Diarrhea

Dry cough

Pneumonia

Mild infections

Avoiding Nonsexual Transmission of HIV

o Do not shoot drugs, or

share needles for

tattooing or ear

piercing

o Have an HIV test

before becoming

pregnant if you have

experienced one or

more risk factors

The only certain way to

avoid sexual transmission

of HIV is to abstain from

sexual intercourse or

sexual activity.

What does not transmit

HIV:

Sharing a glass Hot tubs or swimming pools Toilets Skin to skin contact: hugging,

handshakes, etc. Food Pets Insects Tears Air