Preventing the Spread of Infectious Diseases
Hygiene Practices
Community
Personal
Definition
Personal hygiene refers to maintaining cleanliness of one's body and clothing to preserve overall health and well-being.
How does it work?
responsible for keeping themselves clean and practicing good hygiene in the community
Reduces risk of pathogens entering the body
Examples
Body, hair and teeth should be washed regularly
always sneeze or cough into tissues --> prevents airborne pathogens from being transmitted
washing hands regularly
Definition
Involves the maintenance of communal hygiene through infrastructure and community practices
How does it work?
Good and well-maintained infrastructure facilitates for good hygiene in the community
Promoting good hygiene practices help prevent the spread of diseases within the community
prevents build-up of plaque pathogenic organisms in the community
Examples
Proper sewerage disposal within the community
Garbage disposal
City planning reduces overcrowding within the cities
Water cleaning infrastructure
Vaccination
Handling of Food
proper storage of food: cooked and uncooked
If visibly sick, do not handle food
washing hands with soap before touching food
Keep nails short and clean
Active immunity
Passive Immunity
How it works
Definition
Introduction of antibodies into the body from an external source
Introducing antibodies into the body to prevent disease from developing
No memory B or T cells are produced
short period of immunity
The antibodies used are produced by another organism that has the disease
Examples
Transfer of antibodies from mother to baby via the placenta
Transfer of antibodies via breastmilk
Definition
Living but attenuated version of a pathogen is introduced into the body to stimulate an immune response
Pathogens are introduced and stimulates T and B lymphocytes production
B and T memory lymphocytes are produced
Target specific pathogens and their antigens
Examples
Smallpox (active induced)
Vaccine developed using scrapings from the sore of a dairymaid cow who had cowpox
Quarantine
Definition
Quarantine separates and restricts movement of people who have been exposed to a certain disease.
Isolation is different to quarantine- act of separating individuals based on if the individual has contracted a disease.
How it is implemented in Australia
Australia is isolated, which makes it easy to contain foreign infection using quarantine procedures before entering Australia
DAWR: minimizes the risk of pest and diseases entering Australia
Protect native species and environmental health
Examples
Plant
Humans
Animal
Ensures animals are disease free before entering Australia or being released into the wild
Ships need to notify if any individuals are exhibiting symptoms of disease
Christmas Island
Examining plants for diseases or symptoms of disease
Refusing the entry of items into Australia
Genetic Engineering
Definition
involves the alteration of the genetic composition of genes in an organisms genome
resistance to diseases can be developed as new traits are expressed
How does it work?
transgenic species
Alters genetic composition of a species so they express traits that make them less susceptible to disease contraction
adds or removes genes from an organism to make them more disease resistant
Examples
CRISPR
Holds promise for people infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria --> decreases viral load
uses same cellular mechanism that prokaryotes use to exchange certain traits across bacterial colonies
can develop or refine antibiotics to completely eradicate certain forms of bacteria from deadly infections
Transgenic mosquitos
Controls the spread of disease through a population
Reduces incidence of infectious diseases from cellular parasites
Pesticides
Definition
A branch of chemicals which are designed to kill certain pathogens, insects or fungus.
How do they work?
The chemicals are toxic to the specific pests they are targeting
Effective to control
human/livestock disease
organisms that can harm other human activities and structures
pest and plant disease vectors
decreases transmission of infectious diseases as the pathogen cannot be transmitted by the host
Negatives
Resistance can be developed against pesticides
due to overuse
Examples
Pesticides
Herbicides
Fungicides
Mertect
Biopesticides
Green Gobbler
Public Health Campaigns
Definition
Provided for the public to convey a health message for a desired audience to promote good health practices
Conveying storage and handling of food
Conveying proper sterilization of medical equipment in healthcare facilities
Prevents the spread of pathogenetic material in foods in restaurants
prevents diseases being spread between patients in a healthcare setting