The diseases Edexcel names beyond the core list: cholera, tuberculosis, Chalara ash dieback, stomach ulcers, Ebola and chlamydia alongside malaria and HIV, with their signs, spread and control, how HIV makes tuberculosis more likely, disease data, and (Biology only) the lytic and lysogenic pathways.
What you will learn
- Give the pathogen and signs for each Edexcel disease
- Match each disease to how it spreads and how that spread is reduced
- Explain how HIV raises the risk of tuberculosis and compare rates per 100,000
- Work out percentages and estimates from cholera, ash dieback and screening data
- Describe the lytic and lysogenic pathways of a virus (Edexcel, Biology only)
The Edexcel diseases
Edexcel expects you to know the pathogen, the signs, how each disease spreads and how its spread is reduced.
| Disease | Pathogen | Signs | Spread | Reduced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cholera | Bacterium | Watery diarrhoea | Water contaminated with faeces | Clean, treated water; sewage kept out |
| Tuberculosis | Bacterium | Lung damage, long cough | Airborne droplets | Isolation, ventilation, antibiotics, BCG vaccine |
| Chalara ash dieback | Fungus | Leaf loss, bark lesions | Airborne spores; young trees moved | Remove and burn trees, control imports |
| Malaria | Protist | Damage to blood and liver, fevers | Mosquitoes (an animal vector) | Nets, repellent, no still water for breeding |
| HIV | Virus | Destroys white blood cells, leading to AIDS | Body fluids: sex, shared needles | Condoms, screening, needle exchange, antiretroviral drugs |
| Stomach ulcers | Bacterium (Helicobacter) | Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting | Oral transmission | Clean water, hygiene, antibiotics |
| Ebola | Virus | Haemorrhagic fever | Body fluids | Isolation, protective clothing, safe burials, vaccine |
| Chlamydia | Bacterium | Often none; can cause infertility | Sexual contact | Condoms, screening, antibiotics |
Match the control to the route: water diseases need clean water, airborne ones need isolation and ventilation, vectors need the vector stopped, body fluids need barriers.
The rest of this lesson and its 13 practice questions are locked.
In this lesson
- The Edexcel diseases
- One disease can lead to another
- Working with disease data
- Lytic and lysogenic pathways (Edexcel, Biology only)
- Try it: Name the pathogen
13 practice questions, marked as you go; about 30 minutes in all.
Key terms
Lysogenic
In this unit: Infection and response
Pathogens and how they spread, the body's defences and the immune system, vaccines, antibiotics and resistance, drug trials, and (Biology only) monoclonal antibodies and plant disease.
- Pathogens and how they spread
- Defences and the immune system
- Vaccines, antibiotics and resistance
- Discovering and testing drugs
- Monoclonal antibodies
- Plant disease and plant defences
- More diseases: cholera, tuberculosis, Ebola and others