Health and Bacterial Diseases Quiz

Study Notes

Health & Diseases

Health: A state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being.
Disease: A condition that impairs the normal functioning of the body.
- Can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired (develop after birth).
- Can be non-infectious (caused by factors other than pathogens) or infectious (caused by pathogens).
Pathogens: Disease-causing organisms.

Bacterial Diseases

Typhoid (Enteric Fever):
- Pathogen: Salmonella typhi (gram-negative bacteria)
- Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food and water, entering the small intestine.
- Symptoms: Sustained high fever, weakness, stomach pain, constipation, headache, loss of appetite, intestinal perforation (severe cases).
- Diagnosis: Widal Test
Pneumonia:
- Pathogens: Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae
- Mode of Transmission: Inhaling droplets/aerosols or sharing glasses and utensils.
- Symptoms: Fever, chills, cough, headache, grey lips and fingernails (severe cases).
- Mechanism: Alveoli of lungs fill with liquid, affecting respiration.
Plague (Bubonic Plague/Black Death):
- Pathogen: Yersinia pestis
- Mode of Transmission: Primarily a disease of rodents, spread via fleas (rat to rat) and then accidentally to humans when infected rats die.
- Symptoms: High fever, buboes (lumps in groin or armpit), black patches on skin (leading to death).
Cholera:
- Pathogen: Vibrio cholerae
- Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food and water.
- Symptoms: Frequent rice-water stools (white in color), repeated vomiting.
- Treatment: ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution).
Diphtheria:
- Pathogen: Corynebacterium diphtheriae
- Mode of Transmission: Affects children under 5 years of age.
- Symptoms: Sore throat, chills, mild fever, vomiting, headache.
- Characteristic: "Grey membrane" formation on throat and tonsils, can spread down and cause breathing difficulties.
- Treatment: DPT vaccine (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) for infants.
Tuberculosis (Koch's Disease):
- Pathogen: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacteria damages tissues through various toxin secretion systems).
- Mode of Transmission: Inhaling droplets in the air containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- Symptoms: Weight loss, blood-containing sputum, excessive fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, cough, chest pain, night sweats, rapid pulse.
- Diagnosis: Mantoux Test.
- Treatment: BCG vaccine (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin).
Leprosy (Hansen's Disease):
- Pathogen: Mycobacterium leprae
- Mode of Transmission: Bacilli leave the body through nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, speaking, or broken skin lesions.
- Symptoms: Skin eruptions, light patches on skin, nerve thickening, loss of sensation, finger and toe deformities.
- Treatment: DDS (diaminodiphenylsulphone).