BIOS 242 Week 6 Assignment; Pathogens

Type of pathogen (bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoan, helminth or prion): Prion Body system a昀昀ected: Nervous system; speci昀椀cally, the brain Signs and symptoms: Rapidly progressing demen琀椀a, memory loss, personality changes, muscle s琀椀昀昀ness or twitching, trouble walking or speaking, eventually leads to coma and death Epidemiology: Very rare—about 1 case per million people each year. Can happen sporadically, be inherited, or be acquired (like through infected brain 琀椀ssue or contaminated medical equipment). Variant CJD is linked to ea琀椀ng beef from ca琀琀le with mad cow disease. Disease treatment and preven琀椀on: No cure or e昀昀ec琀椀ve treatment—care is suppor琀椀ve. Preven琀椀on: careful screening of blood and organ dona琀椀ons, avoiding contaminated surgical tools, controlling animal feed and food safety to prevent BSE exposure. 4. Malaria Pathogen name: Plasmodium falciparum Type of pathogen (bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoan, helminth or prion): Protozoan Body system a昀昀ected: Blood and liver Signs and symptoms: Cycles of fever and chills, headache, fa琀椀gue and muscle aches, nausea or vomi琀椀ng. In severe cases: anemia, seizures, organ failure, and possibly death Epidemiology: Common in tropical and subtropical regions like sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and South America. Spread by the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. About 200+ million cases and over 600,000 deaths annually worldwide. Disease treatment and preven琀椀on: Treatment: An琀椀malarial drugs like ACTs; other drugs include chloroquine, quinine, or me昀氀oquine. Preven琀椀on: Using mosquito nets and insect repellent, taking preven琀椀ve meds when traveling to high-risk areas, mosquito control. There is not a vaccine that covers all types yet. 5. Infec琀椀ous mononucleosis Pathogen name: Epstein-Barr virus Type of pathogen (bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoan, helminth or prion): Viral Body system a昀昀ected: Mainly a昀昀ects the lympha琀椀c system and immune system Signs and symptoms: Extreme fa琀椀gue, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, fever, swollen spleen or liver, some琀椀mes a skin rash Epidemiology: Common in teenagers and young adults. Spread through saliva. Most people get infected with EBV at some point, but not everyone shows symptoms. Once you get it, the virus stays dormant.