Chapter-13 Why Do We Fall Ill

Anything that prevents proper functioning of cells and tissues will lead to a pr
oper lack of proper activity of the body. When a person experiences such a condi
tion, he is said to be ill or in poor health.
What is health?
A state of being well A state of being well enough to function well physically, ment
ally and socially.
Which are the factors important for staying in good health?
Physical Environment Social Environment Cleanliness (Personal Hygiene and Public Cl
eanliness) Good Food Good economic conditions Social Equality and harmony (an examp
le of how community issues effect individual health) To have the opportunity to r
ealise the unique potential in all of us Disease= Dis Ease=Disturbed Ease and th
ere is a specific cause for this discomfort.
Disease is any harmful change that interferes with the normal appearance, struct
ure, or function of the body or any of its parts. Conditions essential for being
free of a disease
There should be no discomfort to the individual. There should be no specific and p
articular cause for a discomfort
Difference between being healthy and disease free
It is possible to be in poor health without actually suffering from a disease When
we think about health, we think about societies and communities When we think ab
out disease, we think about individual sufferers
To identify a disease, we look for signs and symptoms. Symptoms are
Unfavorable change in the functioning or appearance of one or more systems of the
body. Signs things we feel as being wrong. Symptoms give an indication of the disea
se.
Example: Headache, cough, fever, loose motions, pus in the wound etc are symptom
s Laboratory tests are done to confirm the presence and type of disease.
Types of Diseases (based on Duration)
Acute Diseases Eg. Common Cold

Chronic Diseases Eg. Elephantiasis

An Acute disease does not cause major effects on general health An acute disease
may affect a person for a few days or weeks An acute disease will not cause dra
stic long term affects on the health of a person.
A Chronic disease will cause major effects on general health(Loss of weight, fee
ling tired all the time, being short of breath) A chronic disease may affect a p
erson for years A Chronic disease will cause drastic long term affects on the he
alth of a person.

(Prolonged general poor health)

Causes of Diseases (These are just examples and are not to be generalized for ev
ery disease.) Immediate Causes

Contributory Causes

Infection by Microorganisms
Lack of nourishment Economic Status of the Household Genetic Factors
(Pathogens=Disease causing organisms)
First Level Cause Infection by Microorganisms
Second Level Cause Lack of Good nourishment
Third Level Cause Poverty and lack of public services
Infectious causes
are usually external causes Eg. Infectious agents like microbes Microbes can spr
ead in the community and infect others Lead to Infectious Diseases
Non infectious Causes
are usually internal causes Eg. Some cancers are caused by genetic abnormalities
Cannot infect others Lead to Non-Infectious Diseases
Control of the disease depends on
the type of Disease the immediate causes are they infectious or non infectious Infe
ctious diseases are caused by Infectious Agents i.e. the microorganisms.
Name of the Disease
Common Cold, Influenza, Dengue, AIDS Typhoid fever, Anthrax, Tuberculosis, Chole
ra Common Skin Infections like Ringworm Malaria, Kala-azar Some intestinal Infec
tions, Elephantiasis
Caused by (Infectious Agents)
VIRUSES BACTERIA FUNGI Protozoans DIFFERENT SPECIES OF WORMS
Special Biological Characteristics
Live inside host cells Multiply very quickly Live inside host cells Multiply ver
y quickly Live inside host cells Multiply very quickly Multiply very quickly Mul
tiply slowly
Other Examples:

Staphylococci, a bacteria causes acne on skin Trypanosoma, a protozoan causes Sl

eeping Sickness. Leishmania, a protozoan causes Kala-azar.
Controlling the Infectious Agents: Closely related groups have similar life proce
sses. Therefore , drugs that block one of these life processes in one member of t
he group is likely to be
effective against other members of the group.
However , the same drug may not work against a microbe belonging to a different g
roup.
What are Antibiotics?
Antibiotics (Greek anti, against; bios, life) are chemical compounds used to kill or
inhibit the growth of infectious organisms. Commonly block biochemical pathways
important for the growth of bacteria. Example- An antibiotic Penicillin blocks th
e bacterial processes that build cell wall. If human beings
take Penicillin, it will not effect humans as human cells do not have cell walls
.
therefore antibiotics will control a number of bacterial infections. Antibiotics d
o not work against viral infections as viruses do not have the same biochemical
processes as bacteria.
That is why an antibiotic does not control viral infections like common cold. Spr
ead of Infectious Diseases/How they can be communicated? Since the infectious ag
ents(microbes can move from an affected person to a healthy person, therefore th
ese diseases are also called Communicable Diseases.
Medium for spread of the disease
Process of spread of the disease
Names of Diseases that can be spread this way
Air (Airborne Diseases) Water (Waterborne Diseases) Sexual Act (Sexually Transmi
tted Diseases) Animals (Eg. Mosquitoes and dogs)
When an infected person sneezes or coughs, little droplets are thrown out by him
.
When the excreta from someone suffering from an infectious disease of digestive
system, such as Cholera gets mixed with drinking water, and this water is used b
y a healthy person.
Common Cold, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis.
Cholera
Sexually transmitted Disease Not spread by casual physical contact like handshak
es, hugs etc. These animals are called VECTORS or INTERMEDIARIES Carry infecting
agent from a sick person to a potential host.
AIDS, Syphilis
Malaria, Rabies
How does the AIDS virus spread from a healthy person to a diseased person?
1.Sexual Contact, 2. Blood to Blood contact with infected people, 3. Infected mo
ther to her baby during pregnancy, 4. Infected mother to her baby through breast
feeding.
Why do the female mosquitoes of a species, suck blood from warm blooded animals
like human beings?
Because the female mosquitoes need highly nutritious food in the form of blood,
in order to lay mature eggs.
Manifestation of the Disease(In what ways does the disease affects a person)
How does the microbe enter the body Organ/ tissue likely to be targeted by the m
icroorganism Symptoms of the Disease Examples of Diseases
Through air via nose Through Mouth By Mosquitoes By Mosquitoes
Lungs Gut Lining or Liver
Sneezing , coughing Diarrhea etc.
Tuberculosis Typhoid,Jaundice
Liver, Red Blood Cells Shivering, fever, Jaundice Malaria Brain Japanese Encepha
litis
Headache, fever, vomiting, fits, unconsciousness The above table shows some spec
ific effects.
There are COMMON EFFECTS too.
The bodys immune system is activated in response to an infection. An active immun
e system will send to the affected tissue to kill the pathogens. This causes inf
lammation.
Local effects of inflammation=swelling and pain General Effects of inflammation=
fever
Limitations to Principles of treatment for infectious diseases: 1) The body func
tions may be damaged due to the disease and the patient may never recover comple
tely. 2) Treatment takes time and may cast a lot of money. 3) the infection may
spread to other people.
THAT IS WHY PREVENTION OF DISEASES IS BETTER THAN THEIR CURE
Principles of Prevention Two types of methods: a) General Methods
b) Methods Specific to a disease General Methods of prevention: Prevent exposure
and availability of proper and sufficient food to build a strong immune system.
How to prevent exposure:
Type of Disease/Microbe
How to prevent exposure By providing living conditions that are not overcrowded.
By providing safe drinking water, treating water to kill microbial contaminatio
n Clean environment that does not allows mosquitoes to breedPublic Hygiene
Air Borne Water Borne Vector Borne
Specific Methods of prevention-are disease specific Immunization ie Vaccination
by which we can fool the immune system into developing antibodies against a dise
ase. By this method the body builds up strength to fight against a disease.
Questions: 1) Why is it difficult to make antiviral medicines? 2) What is HIV-AI
DS? How does this disease spread from one person to another? List the symptoms o
f this disease. What are its general effects? How does a person suffering from A
IDS die? 3) How was small pox eradicated? 4) Why are children living in many par
ts of India usually immune to Hepatitis A? 5) Name five disease against which vac
cines are available. 6) Comment on the following statement: Having a disease mea
ns preventing subsequent attacks of the same monikamehan@gmail.com http://biology
-secondarylevel.blogspot.com