Engine Gunk: Communicable Diseases

Wash your hands. Do not share drinks. Do not share your makeup. Do not share utensils or drinks, or eat food that someone else has bitten or licked. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. How many times have you heard these commands? While it might seem as if someone is trying to boss you around, that person actually cares a lot for your health and the health of others. Taking such measures can help prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Communicable diseases are diseases that spread from person to person by contact with an affected individual or organism. These contagious diseases can be spread from body contact, transfer of mucus through coughing or sneezing, or sexual acts. You probably know that you can prevent getting colds and the flu by hand washing and steering clear of others who are sick. You might even be sent home from school or work if you have a contagious illness. Communicable diseases range from being cured easily to being highly fatal.

Germs spread communicable diseases from person to person. Germs, also known as microbes, are organisms only seen through microscopes. Your body’s immune system can usually fight off pathogens, or germs that are responsible for causing diseases. Infections occur when pathogens enter your body, multiply, and cause damage to cells. Some infections are very mild, and cause only slight discomfort, but some are very dangerous and can cause death.

Pathogens are spread by contact with an infected person, animal, insect, food, or water source. By knowing how pathogens are passed along, you can prepare yourself and prevent the diseases from spreading.

Pathogens

In this interactivity, you will learn about the four main types of pathogens that cause infections: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. You will also discover common communicable diseases caused by pathogens, and how to prevent contracting those diseases. Click the player button to begin.

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Major Barriers Against Pathogens

Immunity is your body’s natural resistance to pathogens. The immune system includes barriers your body is equipped with that protect it from pathogens. These barriers prevent pathogens from entering your body and making you sick. In this interactivity, you will explore your body’s barriers. Click the player button to begin.

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There are two types of immunity. Passive immunity describes the antibodies found in an infant, and obtained from its mother. Passive immunity lasts for a few months, until the infant starts to produce its own antibodies. Active immunity describes the way your body protects you from getting sick. A significant fact about your body is that it remembers a pathogen once it is initially exposed. For example, once you have chicken pox, your immune system creates cells specifically made to fight that virus. If the virus tries to enter your body again, those cells quickly combat the virus.

There are also two main types of immunization: passive immunization and active immunization.

Passive immunization is used to supply immediate protection against specific pathogens that cause disease. Blood is taken from one person or animal that has already been exposed to the disease, and injected into another person or animal that needs defense against that specific pathogen. The blood that is injected contains antibodies that fight off the pathogen within a few days.

Active immunization is also known as vaccination, and introduces vaccines into the body to prevent disease. Vaccines are made from weakened or killed viruses that are injected into the body to produce immunity against a disease. Vaccines provide the body with a small dose of a virus so that it can build up antibodies against the virus. Then, once a person is exposed to the pathogen, the body is ready to fight it off. Antibodies are proteins that are employed by the body’s immune system to recognize and counteract bacteria and viruses.

Laws enforcing immunizations are specific to each state. You might remember that when you were younger, you had to get shots before going to school. School-aged children have to have up-to-date immunizations to attend public schools. Immunizations keep children protected from many diseases, and also prevent outbreaks of disease and plagues that have taken many lives in the past. Local health departments provide immunizations for free or at reduced cost to people who do not have medical insurance.

Protection Against Communicable Diseases

Going to the doctor and becoming immunized against certain pathogens is one method of protection against communicable diseases. You can also help protect yourself from food-borne illnesses that can cause nausea, fever, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and even death, by avoiding such pathogens as the norovirus, salmonella, E.coli, and staphylococcus that can infect food and drink. In this interactivity, you will learn more ways to protect yourself against pathogens. Click the player button to begin.

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Communicable Diseases Review

Now that you have learned about communicable diseases, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player button to get started.