Diseases
Diseases
A disease is an abnormal condition of the body which leads to illnesses and in some cases, death. Diseases are caused by germs (pathogens) such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, toxins and tumors. Some people are born with diseases that are hereditary meaning they were born with it. It was passed to them by one or both parents. There are two major kinds of diseases, communicable or infectious and non communicable or non-infectious.
Communicable or infectious diseases are mainly caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. These diseases can be passed or spread from one person to another. Some examples are Influenza (flu), HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Measles and COVID-19 .
Communicable diseases are transmitted by:
person to person contact - when an infected person touches or exchanges body fluids with someone else during kissing or sexual intercourse, for example HIV/AIDS.
mother to unborn child - occurs when a pregnant mother passes an infection to an unborn child. An infected mother can pass germs through the placenta or the vagina at birth. This is why it's important for pregnant mothers to try and stay germs free. HIV/AIDS is an example.
droplet spread - the spray of droplets during coughing, sneezing and even talking can infect a person who's in close proximity. Corona virus is transmitted in this way.
airborne germs - some germs can remain in the air for a long period of time. A person will catch such a disease simply by breathing. Measles is an example of such a disease.
contaminated objects - some germs are able to live on surfaces for a period of time ranging from hours to days. If you touch a surface right after an infected person then touch your mouth nose or eyes before washing your hands, you maybe exposed to the disease. Corona virus is transmitted in this way.
blood transfusion - if a person uses the contaminated blood of another individual, he/she will become infected.
open wounds - if the wound of an infected person comes into contact with the wound of another individual, then the disease maybe spread.
contaminated food and water - some infectious are spread when we eat contaminated food or drink contaminated water.
animal to person contact - this occurs when an infected animal bites you or you handle animal waste in an unsafe way.
vectors - vectors are insects such as mosquitoes and pests such as rats that are carriers of the disease. This means they carry the germs around in their body but it doesn't affect them. They spread the disease when they bite us or infect our food before we eat it.