Types of Diseases: Book Source: Sciecnec and technology , Dr BRAOU

2. Infectious Diseases

Infectious Diseases are also called as communicative diseases. These are passed from one person to another in different ways and through different media such as water, air, food, clothes etc. These are caused by micro organisms and worms. Some of the common infectious diseases are cold, cough and diarrhoea etc. The infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms are as follows.

Bacteria- Cholera, Dysentery, Whooping cough, Leprosy, Plague, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Tuberculosis (TB), Typhoid, Menangitis etc.

Viruses- Chiken Pox, Cold, Influenza, Measles, Mumps, Rabies etc.

Protozoa- Malaria, Amoebic dysentery, Sleeping sickness etc.

Fungi- Skin-diseases, Ring worm diseases etc.

Worms- Filaria, Cysticercosis

Tuberculosis (TB): Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an obligate aerobe, first isolated by Robert Koch in 1887. Hence it is known as Koch’s bacillus. Mycobacterium bovis causes tuberculosis in cattle and can also cause bovine tuberculosis in humans. The organism is a small rod like and enters the respiratory tract and grows on the lung tissue. The symptoms are chronic cough, chest pains, high fever and a flow of thick expectorated matter called sputum. “Directly observed therapy under supervision (DOTS)” strategy is at present implemented by WHO to control and prevent tuberculosis

But all diseases are not infectious. Some diseases are not caused by external infections. So these cannot be spread from person to person. For example diabetes, anaemia, joint pains, cancer, asthma, scurvy, obesity, hysteria etc., are some of the non-infectious diseases.

Attribution: "Science and Technology" by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Open University is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Unit : 05  ,    Page No: 55 - 71