Have your read the previous post regarding defence against diseases in I/GCSE Biology? If yes, let's move on reading how we can protect ourselves against diseases! 🤢

• Medicines help to relieve symptoms (e.g. lozenges for sore throat)
• but don’t not kill the pathogen

It's important to know how our body kill bacteria in I/GCSE Biology ^^

Antibiotics ➡️ medicines that help cure diseases caused by Bacteria

• Antibiotics kill Bacteria inside body

1. Penicillin was first Antibiotics discovered

• Antibiotics can’t kill viruses

1. Virus’s live and reproduce inside cells ➡️ hard to develop a medicine which kills the virus but doesn’t damage body cells or tissues

Effect of a Antibiotics measured in a lab !

• Done by placing small discs of paper containing antibiotics on a dish containing Bacteria growing on gel
• Clear zone is where Antibiotics has been killed
• Results in body may be different to results on gel (body is more complicated)

• Immunity can be gained w/o ever having the disease
• When baby – immunised against whooping cough, measles and polio
• Immunisation (vaccination) ➡️ injecting or swallowing a vaccine.

1. Dead or inactive form of the pathogen.
2. Vaccine doesn’t make you ill but WBC still produce Antibodies and destroy the pathogen.

• Step 1 – Weak or dead microbes are injected into body
• Step 2 – Antibodies produced which destroy microbes and their toxins
• Step 3 – You’re immunised, next time REAL disease comes, antibodies are released before you become ill.

References:

1. "Antibiotic", https://images.slideplayer.com/27/9115434/slides/slide_9.jpg
2. "Vaccination", https://www.newschainonline.com/bsp-static/image/2020/12/02/13/2e58ba1021971ad605cdde9648f960a9Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaCwxNjA3MDAwNjAy-2.56899314.jpg?width=960&auto=webp

And we're done with this topic! Well Done!

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Drafted by Alyssa (Biology)