Introduction to The Body at War – Year 9

Suppose a friend of yours developed a strange rash and then a fever accompanied by severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Your friend was hospitalized for a week before finally recovering. Then, you hear about a student in another class who had similar symptoms, and you learn that this student's cousin was also sick with fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea. A few days later, you hear a television report about a strange illness affecting five students at a nearby high school. The symptoms described sound just like those experienced by your friend.

Questions to contemplate: “Do all the sick people have the same disease?" "What is the cause of the disease?" "Do the victims have anything in common that can tell us how the disease is transmitted?"

Brainstorm: What is a Disease? How can they be transmitted? (go from one person to another) Can all diseases be “caught” off someone else? What are some ways that we can prevent getting a disease? What are some examples of diseases that you know?