Controlling Disease

What is the difference between scientific and social strategies to control disease?

scientific strategies are actions based on science that target the pathogen itself such as vaccination programs, medication whereas social strategies are public health services, laws and behaviour that manage human actions to minimise pathogen transmission such as quarantine, isolation, sanitation and public health campaigns

What is globalisation and how does it allow infectious disease to spread?

the growing interconnectedness of the worlds economies, cultures and populations, driven by trade, international travel and technology. travel time is now shorter than incubation period for mist pathogens, so asymptomatic travelers are spreading the disease before they themselves feel sick. trade spreads disease through contaminated food exports or through vectors such as rats and mosquitos

What does a vaccination do?

used to activate the immune system to produce antibodies against a specific antigen without actually causing the disease (induces active immunity)

What are vaccine composed of?

altered, weakened or specific part of a pathogen

How does a vaccine provide immunity?

primary exposure to the harmless antigens in the vaccine allow APCs to engulf the vaccine antigens and present them in MHCII markers to helper t cells in the lymph nodes. then the complementary helper T cells activate B cells which differentiate into plasma cells to produce antibodies and long lived memory cells. This gives immunity upon re exposure as memory cells trigger a rapid response, destroying the pathogen before it can casue illness

What is Herd immunity?

when a high enough percentage of a population is immunised against a disease it makes it difficult for pathogens to find a host and spread, protecting those who can’t be vaccinated