Question:
What are the different means by which infectious diseases are spread ? [SAII – 2011, 2013]
Answer:
The various means by which the infectious diseases get spread are :
- Through air : This occurs through the little droplets thrown out by an infected person who sneezes or coughs. Someone standing closeby can breathe in these droplets and the microbes get a chance to start a new infection. Examples of such diseases which spread through the air are the common cold, pneumonia and tuberculosis.
- Through water: This occurs if the excreta from someone suffering from an infectious gut disease, such as cholera, get mixed with the drinking water used by people living nearby.
The cholera-causing microbes will enter new hosts through the water they drink and cause disease in them. Such diseases are much more likely to spread in the absence of safe supplies of drinking water.
- Through sexual contact: Microbial diseases such as Syphilis or AIDS are transmitted by sexual contact from one partner to the other. Other than the sexual contact, the AIDS virus can also spread through blood-to-blood contact with infected people or from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy or through breast feeding.
- Through vectors: There are certain animals which carry the infecting agents from a sick person to another potential host. These animals are thus the intermediaries and are called vectors. The commonest vectors are the mosquitoes which spread malaria. In many species of mosquitoes, the females anopheles need highly nutritious food in the form of blood in order to be able to lay mature eggs:
Why Do We Fall Ill?
Q 1.
Differentiate between communicable and non-communicable diseases. Give one example of each.
Q 2.
Give two examples for each of the following :
(a) Acute diseases
(b) Chronic diseases
(c) Infectious diseases
(d) Non-infectious diseases.
Q 3.
What do you mean by immune response ? , [SAII – 2014]
Q 4.
Majority of children in many parts of India are already immune to Hepatitis A by the time they are five years old. Why ?
Q 5.
What do signs and symptoms indicate if a person is suffering from any disease ? [SAII -2014]
Q 6.
Name the protozoan pathogen that causes kala-azar.
Q 7.
Name the vector that can cause sleeping sickness.
Q 8.
What is a disease ? How many types of diseases have you studied ? Give examples.
Q 9.
Name the microbe which causes acne.
Q 10.
(i) Why a person suffering from AIDS cannot fight even small infections ?
(ii) In a slum area, many people are suffering from malaria. Mention any two unhygienic conditions that must be prevailing in that locality.
(iii) Why female Anopheles mosquito feeds on human blood ? [SAII – 2014]
Q 11.
Give two examples of bacterial antibiotics.
Q 12.
Name the vector which causes malaria.
Q 13.
What is the purpose of vaccination ?
Q 14.
Give four modes of transmission of AIDS.
Q 15.
You have suffered from chickenpox, when you were in class three. Why will you not suffer from it again ? [SAII -2014]
Q 16.
State giving reasons whether the following statements are correct or not:
- Our surrounding area should be free from stagnant water.
- Staying clean is not necessary as long as you eat a balanced diet.
- Social equality and harmony are necessary for good health.
Q 17.
List the diseases caused by viruses?
Q 18.
Name the pathogen causes peptic ulcer.
Q 19.
List the diseases caused by worms?
Q 20.
What are antibodies?
Q 21.
Why are kids and elderly people more vulnerable to cold/flu?
Q 22.
Why are we advised to take blend and nourishing food when we are sick ?
Q 23.
Many vaccines form the public health programme of childhood immunisation for preventing infectious disease. Name any two such diseases.
Q 24.
(i) What is an epidemic disease ?
(ii) Which organ is affected if a person is suffering from jaundice ?
Q 25.
(i) What are the various ways to prevent the diseases ?
(ii) What is immunisation ?
Q 26.
What precautions can you take in your school to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases ?
Q 27.
Becoming exposed to or infected with an infectious microbe (toes not necessarily mean developing noticeable disease. Explain.
Q 28.
State any two conditions essential for good health.
Q 29.
Are the answers to the above questions (Q2 and Q5) and necessarily the same or different? Why?
Q 30.
What is a balanced diet?
Q 31.
List any two differences between infectious and non-infectious diseases. Write any one example of each disease.
Q 32.
What precautions can you take in your school to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases?
Q 33.
Why Colostrum is good for infants?
Q 34.
(i) Which bacterium causes peptic ulcers ?
(ii) Who discovered the above pathogen for the first time ?
Q 35.
What is an antibiotic ? Give its one example.
Q 36.
State any two conditions essential for being free of disease.
Q 37.
What is inflammation ? Write the symptoms of this in human body.
Q 38.
State two principles of treatment of a disease.
Q 39.
List any three reasons why you would think that you are sick and ought to see a doctor. If only one of these symptoms were present, would you still go to the doctor ? Why or why not ?
Q 40.
(a) What is immunisation ?
(b) Define immunity and vaccination.
(c) Define vaccine. .
(d) What type of diseases can be prevented through vaccination ? [SAII -2013]
Q 41.
Conduct a survey in your neighbourhood to find out what the three most common diseases are. Suggest three steps that could be taken by your local authorities to bring down the incidence of these diseases.
Q 42.
Name a disease which was earlier considered to be chronic but now can be treated in short duration?
Q 43.
What is '
germ theory of disease'? Who proposed it?
Q 44.
What is the alternate name of brain fever? Which vector is responsible for this disease?
Q 45.
What are the basic principles involved in medical treatment for diseases?
Q 46.
Name two diseases caused by Protozoans. What are their causal organisms ?
Q 47.
Why is AIDS considered to be a ‘Syndrome’ and not a disease ?
Q 48.
Classify the following diseases as infectious or non-infectious :
(a) AIDS (b) Tuberculosis
(c) Cholera (d) High blood pressure
(e) Heart disease (f) Pneumonia
(g) Cancer
Q 49.
What are the immunisation programmes available at the nearest health centre in your locality? Which of these diseases are the major health problems in your area ?
Q 50.
What do you mean by disease symptoms ? Explain giving two examples.
