Question

Classify the following diseases as infectious or non-infectious.
(i)AIDS (ii) Tuberculosis (iii) Cholera (iv)High blood pressure (v) Heart disease (vi) Pneumonia (vii) Cancer

Answer 1

Infectious diseases:

1. Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungus, or parasites.
2. Many organisms inhabit and dwell on the human body.
3. They are usually innocuous or even beneficial.

Non-infectious diseases:

1. Non-infectious diseases are not caused by germs and so cannot be passed from person to person.
2. Non-infectious diseases, on the other hand, are caused by variables such as heredity, malnutrition, environment, and lifestyle.
3. Cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy are examples of non-infectious disorders.

(i) AIDS

1. Infectious disease: A virus is responsible for the transmission of HIV.
2. It can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or through sexual contact, illicit injectable drug use or needle sharing, contact with infected blood, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.
3. HIV kills CD4 T cells, which are white blood cells that assist the body fight disease.

(ii) Tuberculosis

1. Infectious disease: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that mostly affects the lungs.
2. Tuberculosis bacteria travel from person to person via tiny droplets sprayed into the air by coughs and sneezes.

(iii) Cholera

1. Infectious disease: Cholera is caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae.
2. The disease's lethal effects are caused due to a toxin produced by bacteria in the small intestine.

(iv)High blood pressure

1. Non-infectious disease: Hypertension is not a contagious disease.

(v) Heart disease

1. Non-infectious disease: Certain noncommunicable diseases are more prevalent than others.
2. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory illness, and diabetes are the four major forms of non-communicable diseases.

(vi) Pneumonia

1. Infectious disease: Pneumonia is caused by a variety of microorganisms, most of which are communicable.
2. This implies they can be passed from person to person and cause pneumonia.
3. These organisms can be inhaled through airborne droplets produced when someone with the germs coughs or sneezes.

(vii) Cancer

1. Non-infectious disease: People of various ages, financial backgrounds, genders, and races are affected by cancer.
2. It is the world's second leading cause of noncommunicable illness death.
3. Because of inherited factors, certain malignancies cannot be avoided.