Infectious Diseases

What is an Infectious Disease? Infectious Disease - A disease that is caused by pathogens entering your body. Pathogen - Any organism that causes a disease.

Pathogens Major Human Pathogens: Bacteria Viruses Fungi Parasites

How are Pathogens Spread? The 4 Ways Pathogens Spread: Infected People Infected Animals Contaminated Objects Soil, Food, and Water

Infected People Pathogens pass from one person to another person… Directly - Kissing, Shaking Hands, etc. and Indirectly - Sneezing, Coughing, etc.

Infected Animals Infected animals can bite a person and pass the pathogen to them. Example: Ticks can transmit Bacteria to humans when they bite, giving the humans Lyme Disease.

Vectors Vectors - The hosts or carriers that spread pathogens and disease. Examples: Mosquitos, Ticks, Dogs

Vector-borne Diseases Vector-borne Disease – Any diseases that is spread to humans through direct contact with an infected animal. Examples: Rabies from a dog bite, Lyme disease from a tick, Zika from a mosquito

Contaminated Object Pathogens that can survive outside the body are transferred from infected person, to an object, and then to another person. Examples: Bathroom and kitchen surfaces, door knobs, cell phones, etc.

Soil, Food, and Water Some pathogens can be transferred to people through soil, food and water. Examples: Cholera and Dysentery are two deadly diseases that spread through contaminated water.

Disease Outbreak Sometimes a contagious diseases can become an outbreak. This can happen if it is a new disease or has been absent from a population for a long time. An outbreak can be considered as an epidemic or pandemic.

What is an Epidemic? An epidemic is defined as a disease or illness that occurs in more cases than would normally be expected. An epidemic occurs when an infectious disease spreads rapidly to many people.

Epidemic Examples Ebola is an epidemic in Africa. It is spread mainly by fruit bats and continues to be a problem today due to lack of healthcare. This image shows the number of cases and deaths from 2014.

What is a Pandemic? A Pandemic is the same thing as an Epidemic, but it effects a far higher number of people than an epidemic. A Pandemic also refers to a much larger region being affected. In extreme cases, the entire world could be affected by a pandemic.

Pandemic Examples The 1918 Spanish Flu and the Black Plague are extreme examples of pandemics. A pandemic doesn't necessarily mean millions of deaths - it means a geographically widespread epidemic.

How can an Epidemic become a Pandemic? When people travel to different continents they can spread infectious diseases. Ways it can spread to other continents… Travel by Airplane Travel by Boat Migrating Animals

Infectious Disease Activity 8 random “infected” people will get stickers representing a pathogen. They will walk around and place a sticker on people’s hands and frequently touched objects around the room. If someone has a sticker, don’t give them another one. At the end of the activity it will be revealed who now has an infectious disease and who does not.

What disease do you have? White = Common Cold Virus Green = Flu Virus Pink = Ringworm Fungus Yellow = E. Coli Bacteria Orange = Strep Throat Bacteria Blue = Ebola Virus Purple = Measles