Why Do We Fall Ill? Important Questions

---

Very Short Answer Questions (1 Mark Questions)

Ques. How do you define the symptoms of a disease?

Ans. When someone has headaches, watery eyes, and loose motions, these are referred to as symptoms of a disease.

Ques. What do you understand by the term reservoir? 

Ans. Reservoirs include people, animals, arthropods, plants, soil, and substances in which an infectious agent lives and multiplies to enable it to survive.

Ques. What is an infectious disease?

Ans. Infectious diseases are those which are spread through indirect contact between people or via some medium. For example, Common cold, tuberculosis, etc.

Ques. Describe congenital diseases. 

Ans. A congenital disease is a condition that is present from birth in an individual.

For example, colour blindness 

Ques. Describe the effects of inflammation both at the local and general levels.

Ans. Swelling or ache is a local effect while headaches or fever are general effects.

Ques. What do you understand by immunity?

Ans. An individual's body's ability to fight disease-causing organisms is called immunity.

Ques. In what ways are vaccines used to prevent disease?.

Ans. The use of vaccines can prevent diseases such as polio, smallpox, tetanus, measles, etc.

Ques. When children are 5 years old, how do they become immune to hepatitis A in many parts of India?

Ans. The water that the children drink exposes them to the hepatitis A virus, which makes them immune to the virus.

Read More: Genetic Disorders: Types, Causes & Examples

---

Short Answer Questions (2 Marks Questions)

Ques. How are chronic diseases different from acute diseases?

Ans. The difference between acute diseases and chronic diseases are as follows:

• Acute Disease

1. An acute disease lasts only for a short period.
2. As these events have short-term effects, they do not adversely affect health. Typical example: Common cold.

• Chronic Disease

1. Chronic diseases last for a long period, even for a lifetime.
2. An individual's health is affected for a long time by them. Example: Tuberculosis 

Ques. How do you define pandemic disease? Describe an example.

Ans. A pandemic disease affects a large portion of the world's population. An example is COVID-19.

Ques. What are the symptoms that will lead you to see a doctor?

Ans. High fevers, headaches, tiredness, loose motions, coughing, loss of appetite, and weight loss are some of the symptoms that we seek medical help for, as a doctor is in a position to determine the cause of the symptoms and prescribe medication accordingly.

Ques. What does DPT stand for?

Ans. To produce antibodies against these three antigens, DPT is called the triple antigen. Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus are the diseases.

Ques. What makes antibiotics effective against bacteria?

Ans. Antibiotics block bacteria's biochemical pathways, inhibiting their growth and killing them. Penicillin works by blocking the pathway involved in the synthesis of the bacteria's cell wall. By preventing the bacteria from growing, they are killed.

Ques. What do you mean by non-infectious diseases? Describe two examples.

Ans. Non-infectious diseases are those that do not spread from one person to another. The cause is usually internal. Examples include cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

Ques. What does it mean to be disease-free and healthy? 

Ans. Diseases affect living organisms by interfering with their normal functioning. Individuals experience a feeling of discomfort when they suffer a disease. Being disease-free is an idea that applies to individuals suffering from the disease.

Transmission of Diseases

Read More: Blood Pressure Symptoms

---

Long Answer Questions (3 Marks Questions)

Ques. (i) Why can an AIDS patient not even fight off a tiny infection?

(ii) There are many malaria cases in a slum. Describe two unhygienic conditions that must exist in that locality.

(iii) Why do female Anopheles mosquitoes feed on human blood? 

Ans. (i) HIV has multiple dimensional effects. In HIV, the virus goes to the immune system and ultimately damages its function. As a result, they are unable to fight even small infections.

(ii) (a) A stagnant body of water, (b) Garbage accumulating.

(iii) For female Anopheles mosquitoes to lay their eggs, they need large amounts of proteins.

Read More: AIDS

Ques. Are there any measures you can take in your school to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases?

Ans. To reduce the incidence of infectious diseases at our school, we can take the following precautions:

• Consuming hygienic water.
• Keeping water from accumulating in the surroundings.
• Toilets must always be kept clean.
• Eat only foods that are not covered.
• Bathing every day
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Prevent mosquito breeding by maintaining a clean environment. The vector-borne disease cannot thrive in an unclean environment.

Ques. The health of an individual depends on public cleanliness. Share your thoughts.

Ans. Static water, overflowing drains, garbage thrown in open drains or sewers, or garbage was thrown down open drains are all breeding grounds for disease-causing organisms such as mosquitoes and flies. Mosquitoes and flies transmit disease-causing microbes. The result is that diseases can spread in the community and affect the health of individuals. Keeping the community clean is therefore important for personal health.

Ques. Which of the following is most likely to have adverse long-term effects on your health?

•  if you are suffering from jaundice?
•  if you get lice?
•  if you have acne. 
• Also, explain the reasons for the same 

Ans. The effects of lice and acne on our bodies are not long-lasting. The long-term effects of jaundice are drastic. You will experience symptoms like:

• Symptoms include high temperature, headache, and joint pain.
• Nausea and vomiting accompany the high temperature.
• Rashes
• In order to recover sooner, you will be suffering from prolonged general health problems.

Ques. How is the principle of immunization useful and implemented for eliminating polio?

Ans. The polio vaccine which is administered to children in the form of polio drops contains weakened polio causing pathogen which is not able to cause the disease but enables the immune system of the child to produce antibodies against the poliovirus. The subsequent encounter of the child with the poliovirus activates the immune system which kills the poliovirus and protects the immunized child from the disease. Thus, the principle of immunization helps in eliminating polio.

---

Very Long Answer Questions (5 Marks Questions)

Ques. Describe the causes, symptoms, preventive measures, and treatment for AIDS.

Ans. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the retrovirus that causes AIDS. Sexual contact, blood transfusion, use of infected needles, or use of blades infected with the disease can transmit the disease to a healthy person. A mother's infection can also be passed on to her fetus.

Symptoms of AIDS

• Lymph gland inflammation.
• Night sweating and weight loss.
• Blood loss and fever.
• It may even lead to memory loss if there is significant damage to the brain. The person may cease to speak and even think in some cases.
• Due to the damage caused to the immune system, the possibility of other diseases also increases.

Prevention of AIDS 

• Don't engage in sexual activity with unknown people.
• Make sure all needles, blades, etc. Are sterile. are sterilized.
• Assuring that the blood to be transfused is HIV-free.

Ques. Describe the types of anaemia and their symptoms.

Ans. Anaemia is due to a lack of iron in the body. The condition of nutritional anaemia is caused by malnutrition. There are two types:

• Microcytic anaemia: The cause of microcytic anaemia is a lack of iron in the human diet.
• Pernicious anaemia: It results from a deficiency in vitamin B12.

Symptoms

• The person looks pale, weak, and tired.
• They lose their appetite.
• They become underweight.
• Paleness, shortness of breath after slight exertion, weight loss, weakness, etc. The condition may be fatal.

Read More: Food Deficiency

Ques. How can your school reduce the incidence of infectious diseases?

Ans. In order to reduce the likelihood of infectious diseases in schools, the following precautions can be taken:

• Isolation of students who have a common cold or eye flu (to limit the spread of airborne diseases).
• Drinking water that is clean (to prevent water-related diseases from spreading).
• Maintaining a clean environment to prevent the growth and multiplication of vectors.
• Introducing an immunization program for children.
• Teaching the prevention of infectious diseases through lectures and seminars

Ques. (a) Define immunity and vaccination

(b) Define vaccine. Can vaccination prevent any diseases? 

Ans. (a) Immunization is the process of injecting a substance into a healthy individual in order to create immunity against a disease.

A person's immunity is their ability to recognize, eliminate, and kill a variety of external pathogens that cause disease. Vaccinations are done by giving a vaccine, so they are also called immunization.

(b) A vaccine consists of a solution containing the disease-causing organisms but in a weakened or diluted form. These organisms can be living or dead. Infectious diseases are not caused by this, but it prevents any further exposure to the infecting microbe from becoming an actual problem.

As a result of vaccination, smallpox, rabies, polio, diphtheria, chickenpox, and hepatitis are controlled. A massive vaccination program has made it possible to eradicate smallpox from every region of the world.

---

Check-Out: