Disease Transmission The method of how a disease is spread through a population Epidemic: A disease that suddenly increases in occurrence above the normal level in a given population. Pandemic: An increase in the occurrence of a disease within the worldwide population. 3 Methods of Transmission

Direct Contact Hand-to-Hand Bodily Fluids Ingestion Staph, common colds Bodily Fluids Mononucleosis, STD’s Ingestion Eaten/Swallowed Food poisoning, giardia, cholera Fecal-Oral E. coli, tape worms

Indirect Contact Air-borne Object-to-Hand Tuberculosis, Influenza Anthrax, Tetanus

Vector-borne Spread from another organism to humans Malaria Plague West Nile virus Dengue Fever Yellow Fever Lyme Disease…

Types of Vectors Mosquitoes Fleas Ticks Flies Beetles Malara, West Nile virus Fleas Plague Ticks Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Flies River blindness, African Sleeping Sickness Beetles Chagas disease

Disease Immunity Exposure Vaccines For many diseases, if you contract it and recover you will be immune afterwards. Vaccines Can be made from dead microbes or live “attenuated” (made so they do not cause the disease) Cause immune system to remember the pathogen, so if you are exposed later on it will destroy it immediately.

Treatments For bacterial diseases: antibiotics Antibiotics DO NOT work on viruses, fungi or protozoans! Viruses: anti-viral drugs Only work for some diseases, are expensive Fungi: anti-fungal drugs, powders, creams Protists: anti-parasitic drugs Work for some, but not all Some diseases have no treatments!