Why do we fall ill?

What |s hea|th?
Accordlng Lo world healLh organlzaLlon (WPC) healLh ls a sLaLe of compleLe physlcal menLal and
soclal well belng and noL merely an absence of dlsease or lnflrmlLy
9ersona| and commun|ty hea|th
1o keep ln good healLh one should malnLaln personal hyglene such as Laklng a regular baLh wearlng
clean cloLhes brushlng LeeLh afLer every meal cllpplng nalls washlng hands before and afLer meals
and afLer a vlslL Lo Lhe LolleL eLc
1o malnLaln good healLh effecLlve sanlLaLlon llke proper dlsposal of sewage and domesLlc wasLe ls
necessary
ersonal healLh ls a sLaLe of compleLe physlcal menLal and soclal well belng communlLy healLh
comprlses of malnLaln lmprovlng and proLecLlng Lhe healLh of enLlre communlLy
Iactors he|p|ng |n ma|nta|n|ng commun|ty hea|th
O ,alnLaln proper hyglenlc and sanlLary condlLlons of envlronmenL
O rovldlng good soclo economlc condlLlons
O rovldlng healLh care servlce
O mparLlng healLh educaLlon and promoLlng publlc awareness
O rovldlng proper faclllLles for prevenLlng dlseases
|seases and the|r causes
ulsease (dlsLurbed ease) ls a condlLlon LhaL lmpalrs Lhe proper funcLlonlng of Lhe body or one of lLs
parLs
PealLh and dlsease are noL sharply demarcaLed lL ls Lherefore generally dlfflculL Lo know when Lhe
sLaLe of healLh ends and Lhe sLaLe of dlsease beglns unLll proper sympLoms arlse
A sympLom ls someLhlng a paLlenL can deLecL such as fever bleedlng or paln

|fference between d|sease free and hea|thy are g|ven be|ow


|sease free
nea|thy

elng dlsease free ls a condlLlon of
absence of any klnd of body dlscomforL
2 L depends on Lhe person alone




1 elng healLhy ls a sLaLe of compleLe
physlcal menLal and soclal well belng
2 L depends upon Lhe person hls
physlcal surroundlngs Lhe socleLy and
also hls or her economlc sLaLus



What does d|sease |ooks ||ke?
Pow do we know LhaL a person ls sufferlng from a dlsease?
A person sufferlng from a dlsease wlll feel unwell because lL affecLs lL's funcLlonlng of organ
sysLem and may lead Lo a change ln appearance of Lhe organ sysLem 1hese changes lead Lo
sympLoms whlch lndlcaLe a dlsease Peadache fever sLomach ache eLc are some Lxamples
of sympLoms SympLoms lndlcaLe Lhe presence of dlsease Slgns and sympLom help a docLor
dlagnose Lhe dlsease ln a paLlenL uocLor may also geL blood urlne or sLool LesL done ln
order Lo know exacLly whaL dlsease Lhe person ls sufferlng from
Acute and chron|c d|sease
CerLaln dlseases llke malarla common cold lasL for very shorL duraLlon of Llme such dlseases
are called acuLe dlseases CerLaln dlseases llke dlabeLes Luberculosls lasL for a very long Llme
Such dlseases are Lermed as chronlc dlseases Chronlc dlseases have a ma[or effecL on Lhe
person's general healLh
AcuLe dlseases Chronlc dlseases
1acuLe dlseases lasL for a very shorL Llme
2 such dlseases do noL cause any ma[or
effecL on our healLh

1 chronlc dlsease lasL for a very long Llme
2such dlsease have a bad effecL on our
sLaLe of genral healLh and may lead Lo
prolonged poor healLh

3do noL lead Lo welghL loss or feellng of
Llredness ex malarla common cold eLc

3 Lhey lead Lo loss of welghL or feellng of
Llredness exLuberculosls dlabeLes eLc

What are the factors that cause d|seases?
ulsease causlng facLors may be broadly classlfled lnLo Lwo causes lnfecLlous or non
lnfecLlous causes
nfecLlous causes
ulsease where mlcrobes are Lhe lmmedlaLe causes are called lnfecLlous dlseases Lhls ls
because Lhe mlcrobes can spread ln Lhe communlLy and dlsease Lhey wlll cause wlll spread
wlLh Lhem So we can say LhaL mlcrobes or mlcroorganlsms are prlme lnfecLlous causes
example malarla Luberculosls common flu eye flu [aundlce eLc
nonlnfecLlous causes
1here some dlseases whlch are noL caused by lnfecLlous agenLs Lhelr causes vary buL Lhey
are noL exLernal causes llke mlcrobes LhaL can spread ln communlLy nsLead Lhese are mosLly
lnLernal non lnfecLlous causes lor example some cancers are caused by geneLlc
abnormallLles hlgh blood pressure can be caused by excesslve welghL and lack of exerclse
nfecLlous dlseases
ulsease whlch can be LransmlLLed from one lndlvldual Lo one lndlvldual Lo anoLher dlrecLly or
lndlrecLly are called lnfecLlous dlseases 1hese dlseases are caused by bacLerla fungl vlruses
proLozoan's and worms ulsease causlng organlsms are called paLhogens or lnfecLlous agenLs
Common example of dlseases caused by vlruses ls lnfluenza dengue and alds ulsease llke
Lyphold fever cholera Luberculosls and anLhrax are caused by bacLerlamany common skln
dlsease ls caused by dlfferenL klnds of fungl roLozoan mlcrobes cause many famlllar
dlseases such as malarla and kalaazar All of us have also come across lnLesLlnal worm
lnfecLlons as well as dlseases llke elephanLlasls caused by dlfferenL specles of worms
Why |s |t |mportant that we th|nk of these categor|es of |nfect|ous agents?
1he answer ls LhaL Lhese caLegorles are lmporLanL facLors ln decldlng whaL klnd of LreaLmenL
Lo use ,embers of each one of Lhese groups vlruses bacLerla and so on have many
blologlcal characLerlsLlcs ln common All vlruses for example llve lnslde hosL cells whereas
bacLerla very rarely do
vlruses bacLerla and fungl mulLlply very qulckly whlle worms mulLlply very slowly ln
comparlson 1axonomlcally all bacLerla are closely relaLed Lo each oLher Lhan Lo vlruses and
vlce versa 1hls means LhaL many lmporLanL llfe processes are slmllar ln Lhe bacLerla group buL
are noL shared wlLh Lhe vlrus group As a resulL drugs LhaL block one of Lhese llfe processes ln
one member of Lhe group ls llkely Lo be effecLlve agalnsL many oLher members of Lhe group
uL Lhe same drug wlll noL work agalnsL a mlcrobe belonglng Lo a dlfferenL group
As an example leL us Lake anLlbloLlcs 1hey commonly block blochemlcal paLhways lmporLanL
for bacLerla ,any bacLerla for example make a cellwall Lo proLecL Lhemselves 1he
anLlbloLlc penlclllln blocks Lhe bacLerlal processes LhaL bulld Lhe cell wall As a resulL Lhe
growlng bacLerla become unable Lo make cellwalls and dle easlly Puman cells donlL make a
cellwall anyway so penlclllln cannoL have such an effecL on us enlclllln wlll have Lhls effecL
on any bacLerla LhaL use such processes for maklng cellwalls Slmllarly many anLlbloLlcs work
agalnsL many specles of bacLerla raLher Lhan slmply worklng agalnsL one
,eans of spread
1here are many agenLs Lhrough whlch lnfecLlous dlseases spread
1hrough alr some lnfecLlons llke Luberculosls can spread Lhrough alr An lndlvldual requlres
Lhe lnfecLlon of Luberculosls by lnhalaLlon of dropleLs expelled Lhrough cough and spuLum of
lnfecLed person CLher examples common cold lnfluenza eLc
1hrough conLamlnaLed waLer and food lnfecLlon can spread Lhrough conLamlnaLed food and
waLer nfecLlons of cholera hepaLlLls a and dlarrhea occur due Lo conLamlnaLed food and
waLer
1hrough vecLors anlmals or lnsecLs LhaL can carry Lhe lnfecLlons agenLs from one person Lo
anoLher and spread a dlsease are called vecLors ulseases llke malarla and dengue are spread
Lhrough mosqulLoes
1hrough vlrus vlruses can cause a number of dlseases CerLaln dlsease llke chlckenpox and
rlngworm spread Lhrough dlrecL conLacL of a healLhy person wlLh and lnfecLed person
dlseases llke syphllls and AuS are spread Lhrough sexual conLacL
Crgan spec|f|c and t|ssue spec|f|c d|seases
A paLhogen may enLer our body from several placesln mosL cases Lhe lnfecLlon of Llssue or
organ depends upon Lhe polnL of enLery of paLhogen lor example
O vlrus LhaL casue common cold enLers Lhrough nose and mouLh and affecLs lungs
O Slmllarly Luberculosls causlng bacLerla enLers Lhrough Lhe nose and affecLs Lhe lungs
O f paLhogens enLer Lhrough mouLh wlLh food and waLer Lhey are mosL llkely Lo affecL
Lhe dlgesLlve sysLem organ
Powever lL's noL necessary LhaL paLhogen may affecL an organ or Llssue dependlng on polnL of
enLry for example
AuS causlng vlrus may enLer Lhrough sex organs buL spreads Lo lymph nodes all over Lhe
body
aLhogen causlng malarla enLers lnLo body Lhrough mosqulLo blLe buL reaches llver L
mulLlplles Lhere and evenLually spreads lnLo organ and passes lnLo red blood cells
9r|nc|p|es of treatment of d|sease
An lnfecLlous dlsease can be LreaLed by any of Lhe followlng meLhods
y reduclng Lhe effecLs of Lhe dlsease ln cerLaln dlsease LreaLmenL ls provlded Lo reduce Lhe
sympLoms llke fever sLomach ache nausea body ache cough eLc paLlenL may be advlsed Lo
bed resL ln order Lo conserve Lhe energy buL Lhls klnd of LreaLmenL does noL cure Lhe dlsease
compleLely
y kllllng or ellmlnaLlng Lhe paLhogens bacLerla fungl proLozoa vlruses and wormes cause
lnfecLlons dlseases ,lcrobes can be kllled by Laklng medlclnes whlch affecL Lhe blochemlcal
processes essenLlal for survlval of mlcrobes Lhese blochemlcal process are dlfferenL for
organlsm for each group so a drug effecLlve for one lnfecLlon may noL be effecLlve agalnsL
anoLherhowever anLlbloLlcs whlch affecL one Lype of bacLerla may affecL blochemlcal
processes of oLher bacLerla Loo
now can we prevent d|seases?
1here are Lwo ways one general and one speclflc Lo each dlsease 1he general ways of
prevenLlng lnfecLlons mosLly relaLe Lo prevenLlng exposure
lor alrborne mlcrobes we can prevenL exposure by provldlng llvlng condlLlons LhaL are noL
overcrowded lor waLerborne mlcrobes we can prevenL exposure by provldlng safe drlnklng
waLer 1hls can be done by LreaLlng Lhe waLer Lo klll any mlcroblal conLamlnaLlon lor vecLor
borne lnfecLlons we can provlde clean envlronmenLs 1hls would noL for example allow
mosqulLo breedlng n oLher words publlc hyglene ls one baslc key Lo Lhe prevenLlon of
lnfecLlous dlseases
mmune system
We have a speclal sysLem called lmmune sysLem ln our body an lmmune sysLem ls a collecLlon
of mechanlsms wlLhln an organlsm LhaL provldes proLecLlon agalnsL paLhogens by ldenLlfylng
and kllllng Lhem lf Lhe number of Lhe lnfecLlng mlcrobes ls conLrolled Lhe manlfesLaLlons of
dlsease wlll be mlnor n oLher words becomlng exposed Lo or lnfecLed wlLh an lnfecLlous
mlcrobe does noL necessarlly mean developlng noLlceable dlsease 1he funcLlonlng of Lhe
lmmune sysLem llke any oLher sysLem ln our body wlll noL be good lf proper and sufflclenL
nourlshmenL and food ls noL avallable 1herefore Lhe second baslc prlnclple of prevenLlon of
lnfecLlous dlsease ls Lhe avallablllLy of proper and sufflclenL food for everyone
All meLhods dlscussed above are general ways now we wlll sLudy Lhe more speclflc way of
prevenLlng a dlsease LhaL ls vacclnaLlon
Ldward !enner an Lngllsh physlclan observed LhaL mllkmalds who had cowpox a mlld dlsease
dld noL developed smallpox n 1796 Ldward !enner Look Lhe fluld of cowpox lnfecLed person
and lnoculaLed lL ln 8year old boy AfLer 6 weeks he exposed boy Lo smallpox buL Lhe boy dld
noL develop any sympLoms of smallpox 8eason belng LhaL Lhe cowpox vlrus ls closely relaLed
Lo smallpox vlrus !enner colned Lhe Lerm vacclne from Lhe word vacca meanlng cow ln LaLln
vacclnaLlon ls a process of lnLroduclng llve or weekend mlcrobes lnLo Lhe body of an organlsm
Lo produce lmmunlLy agalnsL Lhe parLlcular dlsease
mmunlLy ls Lhe ablllLy of an organlsm Lo ldenLlfy and desLroy forelgn subsLances Lo reslsL
dlsease
,uch serlous dlseases llke pollo smallpox hepaLlLls LeLanus whooplng cough eLc can be
prevenLed Lhrough effecLlve lmmunlzaLlon programmes