Chapter 8: Emergence and Treatment of new diseases

disease

any condition that affects the normal function of either a part of the organism or the complete organism

infection

when a pathogen has breached the first line of defence and begun to replicate

virulence

how likely a pathogen is to cause harm/disease. The more virulent the pathogen, the more harm/disease it can cause.

contagious

describes a pathogen that is able to spread from an infected person to others

fatality

the occurrence of death

epidemiologist

a specialist who studies the occurrence of diseases within a population group

infectious

able to be transmitted between hosts

emerging infectious disease

a disease not yet seen in people, or a disease that is increasing in incidence or geographical range

Re-emerging infectious disease

a disease that appears again after having been previously eliminated.

indirect transmission

transmission of a pathogen from a location where it has been away from its host for a long time.

selection pressure

the conditions or factors that influence allele frequencies in a population by contributing to the selection of which phenotypes survive in a given environment, e.g. availability of resources, predators and disease

reservoir

origin or usual site of a disease in relation to its spread

transmission

how a pathogen is passed between hosts

immunotherapy

a treatment that uses activation or suppression of the immune system

monoclonal antibodies (mAb)

antibody made by cloning a unique parent immune cell, produced in large quantities in a laboratory as a drug targeting specific cells or substances

Bispecific monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibody that has two different antigen binding sites; made artificially with recombinant DNA technology

conjugated monoclonal antibodies

an antibody that has been combined with a chemotherapy drug or radioactive payload; used as a homing device to take one of these substances directly to the cancer cells.

myeloma cells

an abnormal cancerous plasma cells used in the production of monoclonal antibodies

hybridoma

a cell hybrid produced by the fusion of a B lymphocyte that produces antibodies and a myeloma tumour cell in order to produce a continuous supply of a specific antibody.