Exploring Major Disease Categories

1.1 Main categories of disease:

Infectious disease:

As defined by World Health Organisation (WHO), infectious diseases are the health issues that is caused by various pathogens in the environment such as virus, fungi, bacteria, protists and microbes [WHO, 2019]. These diseases are contagious, that means they have the ability to be transmitted from the one person the other person.

Example: common example of communicable or infectious disease are influenza, malaria, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, polio and tuberculosis (Bickler et al. 2015). In case of Hepatitis, two different pathogens are responsible such as Hepatitis C Virus [HCV] and Hepatitis B virus [HBV]

Non-infectious disease:

As referred by World Health Organisation non-infectious diseases are also known as non-communicable disease which are not caused by the microorganism and cannot be transmitted directly from on person to the other [WHO, 2019].

Example: most common types of non-infectious disease are heart strokes, asthma, chronic kidney disease, auto immune disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and pulmonary disorders (Borrow et al. 2017).

Genetic disease:

Genetic disorders are caused due to different abnormalities or mutation in genome structure or codes (Marder et al. 2017). Recent studies have shows that, genetic disorders occur due to the abnormalities into the genetic make up of a person. Human genome has the complete set of genetic instruction which form the physical, and biological characteristics of person. Any mutation or changes in genomic structure such as error in DNA replication, changes in individual base (A,T,G and C) and mutation of some of DNA sequence lead to develop of genomic disease.

Example: one of the most common genetic disorders is Down Syndrome, which is caused due to presence of all or the extra copy of chromosome 21.

1.2 Role of microorganism in causing the infectious disease:

Microorganism are referred as the pathogens that have ability to cause diseases (Weiner et al. 2016). Infectious disease is caused by different microbes such as fungi, bacteria, virus and protist.

Some Pathogens such as bacteria grow and reproduce inside the host cells (Weiner et al. 2016). After entering into cells bacteria produces toxin, which damages the host cells entirely. Disease symptoms for bacteria attack is headache, high temperature and rashes that is occurred due to the release of toxins into cells.

Virus is unable to reproduce outside living organism. Therefore, they attack host cells and replicate inside the host cells by using genetic material of that cells (Wu et al. 2016). After completion of replication the host cell burst and many viruses are released which attack the new cells. For example, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is associated with develop hepatitis in human body. Zoonotic virus attack animal cells to replicate and damage the call entirely.

2.1 Ways of transmission of infectious disease:

Airborne transmission:

Air is one of the most important carriers of infectious or communicable disease (Semenza et al. 2016). Air carries infected particles and transmit these into the body of heathy person. When person breathe, sneeze and cough, the infected droplets are released into the environments. Through inhalation of dust particles, the infections can be transmitted into the heathy body.

Example: Common examples of air-borne infectious disease are influenzas, small pox, chicken pox, whooping cough and diphtheria.

Contact transmission:

Through physical contact infections are transmitted from the infected person to the suspectable individuals (Weiner et al. 2016).

Example: most common examples of physically transmitted infectious diseases are small pox, ringworm, impetigo, eczema and scabies.

Vehicle transmission:

Vehicle transmission leads to transmission of disease agents through water, serum, milk, plasma and other biological products.

Example of these infectious disease are Cholera, Enteric fever, diphtheria, typhoid and tuberculosis.

2.2 Evaluating factors that associated with risk of infectious disease:

Different risk factors are associated with causing infectious disease such as :

Poor immunity of persons is one of the important risk factors which makes people more prevalent towards infections (Kriventseva et al. 2018). If person has poor immune system, then they are highly prone towards the infectious disease such as influenza, tuberculosis and hepatitis.

Physical contact with person having infectious disease is another risk factor. if people are connected physically with the individual who have infections, that the infectious agents are transmitted to the heathy person and cause infectious diseases.

Unhygienic living condition of people is associated with the development of different infectious disease.

How the risk can be reduced:

By avoiding contact with person suffering from infectious disease (Wu et al. 2016)

By maintaining hygienic environment surrounding in individual with poor immune system

By using different antimicrobial agents into the environments to reduce the chances of transmission of infectious disease through the contact

2.3 identifying the benefits and risk of using antibiotics:

Risk:

One of the common risks of antibiotic is community risk which is known as antibiotic resistance (Kriventseva et al. 2018). Over prescribing of antibiotics leads to resistance into body. People with weakened immune process are more prevalent to form drug resistant organism. People with strong immune system are prevalent to serious medical complications due to resistant infections.

Antibiotics cause severe allergies into human body such as vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea

Antibiotics increase the risk of opportunistic infections in human body

Advantages:

Antibiotics are the important remedy to treat the infectious disease.

Antibiotics are able to save people lives from eth infection caused by bacteria, fungi and virus (Weiner et al. 2016).

Antibiotics are used to kill the life-threatening bacteria by making potential obstacles into their development in human body.

Antimicrobial compounds present in the antibiotics are used to treat the infections caused by virus and bacteria.

3.1 describe internal and external defence mechanism of body:

External defence system:

It is first line of defence which consists of following barrier system.

Physical barriers:

Physical barriers that are used as defence organism are skin and mucous membrane (Semenza et al. 2016)

Chemical barriers:

Chemical barriers are sweat, mucous, cerumen (ear wax) and saliva.

Internal defence system:

Internal defence system of body is known as second line of defence

This consists of two major defensive elements such as defensive cells and immune system.

Defensive cells:

Different defensive cells in human body are phagocytes, eosinophils and natural killer cells. They react when any foreign particle enters into the body (Weiner et al. 2016).

Defensive protein:

Interferon:

Interferon protein is one of most important protein which reacts when any virus enters into the body.

Interferon binds to infected cell and protect the cells by producing the antiviral protein

Antiviral protein resists the replication of virus inside the host cells (Wu et al. 2016)

It also stimulates natural killer cells or macrophages that kill the virus

Inflammations:

It is one kind of second line defensive system (Semenza et al. 2016)

On attacked or injured by any pathogen, inflammatory response start

Redness of skin, swelling, heat and pain occurred on the skin.

3.2 describe the type of immunity:

Natural active:

This type of immunity is developed due to the contact with different pathogens such as virus and bacteria (Weiner et al. 2016)

This immunity is not immediate

Time lapse occurs during the development of this immunity

It last for long period and life long

Antibodies are developed within host cells in response to particular microbes

Natural passive:

It is developed due to the antibodies that enters the antibody from outside (Semenza et al. 2016)

It lasts for less time

The immune process is developed immediately

Artificial passive:

It is developed due to vaccination into body (Weiner et al. 2016)

Vaccination leads to product of artificial antibodies into cells

3.3 Describing the disruption to the immune system:

This is the failure, delays or insufficiencies at any level of the immune system (Kriventseva et al. 2018)

It allows pathogens such as bacteria, protists, fungi and viruses to replicate into host cells at higher amount

Immunodeficiency can occur due to attack of different pathogens such as (HIV) and certain chemical condition (different medical treatment)

Immunodeficiency is associated with different genetic disorders such as Bare lymphocyte syndrome, including Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and MHC II deficiencies

Reference list:

Bickler, S.W., Weiser, T.G., Kassebaum, N., Higashi, H., Chang, D.C., Barendregt, J.J., Noormahomed, E.V. and Vos, T., 2015. Global burden of surgical conditions. Debas HT, Donkor P, Gawande A, Jamison DT, Kruk ME, Mock CN. Disease control priorities in developing countries, 1, pp.19-40.

Borrow, R., Alarcón, P., Carlos, J., Caugant, D.A., Christensen, H., Debbag, R., De Wals, P., Echániz-Aviles, G., Findlow, J., Head, C. and Holt, D., 2017. The Global Meningococcal Initiative: global epidemiology, the impact of vaccines on meningococcal disease and the importance of herd protection. Expert review of vaccines, 16(4), pp.313-328.

Kriventseva, E.V., Kuznetsov, D., Tegenfeldt, F., Manni, M., Dias, R., Simão, F.A. and Zdobnov, E.M., 2018. OrthoDB v10: sampling the diversity of animal, plant, fungal, protist, bacterial and viral genomes for evolutionary and functional annotations of orthologs. Nucleic acids research, 47(D1), pp.D807-D811.

Marder, E.P., Cieslak, P.R., Cronquist, A.B., Dunn, J., Lathrop, S., Rabatsky-Ehr, T., Ryan, P., Smith, K., Tobin-D’Angelo, M., Vugia, D.J. and Zansky, S., 2017. Incidence and trends of infections with pathogens transmitted commonly through food and the effect of increasing use of culture-independent diagnostic tests on surveillance—Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 US Sites, 2013–2016. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 66(15), p.397.

Sands, P., Mundaca-Shah, C. and Dzau, V.J., 2016. The neglected dimension of global security—a framework for countering infectious-disease crises. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(13), pp.1281-1287.

Tibayrenc, M. and Ayala, F.J., 2017. Is predominant clonal evolution a common evolutionary adaptation to parasitism in pathogenic parasitic protozoa, fungi, bacteria, and viruses?. In Advances in parasitology (Vol. 97, pp. 243-325). Academic Press.

Weiner, L.M., Webb, A.K., Limbago, B., Dudeck, M.A., Patel, J., Kallen, A.J., Edwards, J.R. and Sievert, D.M., 2016. Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens associated with healthcare-associated infections: summary of data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011–2014. infection control & hospital epidemiology, 37(11), pp.1288-1301.

Wesley A. Volk, Jay C. Brown (1997) Basic Microbiology. (Eighth edition.) Addison- Wesley educational publishers Inc. United States. (Fungi, pg. 21, 323-330, 324-328.) (Influenza Virus pg. 530,535,542.) (Bacteria pg. 368,474.)

Wu, X., Lu, Y., Zhou, S., Chen, L. and Xu, B., 2016. Impact of climate change on human infectious diseases: Empirical evidence and human adaptation. Environment international, 86, pp.14-23.