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Immunity and Diseases

Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease. They can be transmitted from one host to another through direct contact or indirectly through things like contaminated food, water, or surfaces. There are several ways pathogens enter the body including breathing in droplets, touching contaminated surfaces, consuming contaminated food or water, or contact with infected animals. The immune system provides protection against pathogens through active immunity developed by the body's own response or passive immunity gained from others.

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Prince JASHWANTH ADITHYA
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34 views27 pages

Immunity and Diseases

Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease. They can be transmitted from one host to another through direct contact or indirectly through things like contaminated food, water, or surfaces. There are several ways pathogens enter the body including breathing in droplets, touching contaminated surfaces, consuming contaminated food or water, or contact with infected animals. The immune system provides protection against pathogens through active immunity developed by the body's own response or passive immunity gained from others.

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Prince JASHWANTH ADITHYA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Transmission of pathogens

● A pathogen is a microorganism (a
tiny organism that can only be seen
with a microscope) that causes
disease. Many diseases are caused
by pathogens that get into our bodies
and breed there.
● A person or other animal in which the
pathogen lives and breeds is called a host.
Diseases that are caused by pathogens can
usually be passed from one host to another.
They are called transmissible diseases.
● Once inside the body, some pathogens
damage our cells by living in them and using
up their resources.
● Others cause harm to cells and body systems
by producing waste products, called toxins,
which spread around the body and cause
symptoms such as high temperature and
rashes and make you feel ill.
● Some toxins produced by pathogens are
among the most dangerous poisons in the
world – for example, the one produced by the
bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
How pathogens enter the body?
● The movement of a pathogen
from one host to another is called
transmission.
● The entry of the pathogen into
the body is known as infection.
There are several ways in which
transmission and infection can
happen.
Direct contact
● Some pathogens pass from one person to
another when there is direct contact
between an infected person and an
uninfected one.
● Diseases transmitted like this are known
as transmissible diseases (sometimes
called contagious diseases).
● For example, the virus that causes AIDS,
called HIV (the human immunodeficiency
virus) can be transmitted when an infected
person’s blood comes into contact with
another person’s blood. The fungus that
causes the skin infection, athlete’s foot,
can be passed on by sharing a towel with
an infected person.
Indirect transmission
● Most pathogens are transmitted indirectly. This can happen
through:
● breathing in droplets containing pathogens
● touching a surface that someone with the pathogen has
touched
● eating food or drinking water that contains pathogens
● contact with animals that are carrying pathogens.
Bacteria such as Salmonella can enter your alimentary
canal with the food that you eat. If you eat a large
number of these bacteria, you may get food poisoning.
Fresh foods, such as fruit and vegetables, should be
washed in clean water before you eat them. Cooking
usually destroys bacteria, so eating recently cooked
food is generally safe. Food bought from street stalls is
safe if it is hot and has just been cooked, but you need
to take care with anything that has been kept warm for
a while, as this gives any bacteria on it a chance to
breed. Many governments make sure that food sellers
are checked regularly to make sure that they are using
good hygiene, and that their food is safe to eat.
● Many pathogens, including the virus that causes
poliomyelitis and the bacterium that causes
cholera, are transmitted in water.
● If you swim in water that contains these
pathogens, or drink water containing them, you
run the risk of catching these diseases.
● These pathogens can also get onto your hands if
you touch anything that contains them, and then
be passed into your body when you eat food that
you have touched, or touch your mouth with
your fingers.
Clean water supply
Food Hygiene
Personal Hygiene
Waste Disposal
Sewage treatment
The immune response
The Immune response is the body's ability to stay safe by affording protection against
harmful agents and involves lines of defense against most microbes as well as specialized
and highly specific response to a particular offender.
Two types of immunity exist — active and passive
● Active immunity occurs when our own immune system is responsible for protecting us
from a pathogen.
● Passive immunity occurs when we are protected from a pathogen by immunity gained
from someone else.

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