Infections, Antibiotics, and Vaccination

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Infections, Antibiotics, and Vaccination
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How to reduce the chances of being infected

• Avoid crowded areas especially if you have a
  compromised immune system
• Wash your hands often and thoroughly
• Wash food thoroughly and ensure that all food is
  cooked properly
• Avoid sharing drinks or other objects used by
  others
• Use gloves when working with objects that are
  dirty or may be contaminated with bacteria

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How to treat infections Antibiotics

• Antibiotics are materials taken from bacteria or
  fungi, which are used to destroy harmful bacteria
  or fungi.
• E.g. Penicillin (made from the mould Penicillium
  notatum) is used to destroy the bacteria cell wall

Note Antibiotics are not used for virus
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Antibiotics and Resistance

• Antibiotics kill nearly all bacteria
• The variations of bacteria that are not affected
  by the antibiotics are antibiotic resistant.
• Those bacteria will then reproduce and
  repopulate. The result is that nearly all of the
  bacteria living will be antibiotic resistant.
• ?Evolution

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Antibiotics and Resistance

• Many parasitic bacteria (and fungi) are becoming
  resistant to many drugs.
• E.g. Some tuberculosis causing bacteria are now
  resistant to 7 different antibiotics
• A new super bacteria may be the potential
  outcome

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Antibiotics The Good and Bad

• Good Antibiotics help treat diseases, reduce
  the risk of disease, and can even help promote
  growth
• Bad Antibiotics not only kill bad bacteria, but
  good bacteria as well
• Can eliminate most good bacteria, especially in
  the digestive system
• Bad Antibiotic resistance

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Antibiotics vs. Vaccination
Antibiotics Vaccinations
-Bacteria (Good and Bad), fungi, protists Destroys which organisms? -Viruses, Bacteria (in some cases)
-Breaks down structure of the bacteria causing it to die How does it work? -Stimulates the body to develop an immune response to kill the virus in the future
-Various components What is it made of? -Dead or inactive components of a virus or bacteria
- Affects good bacteria and can cause fever, nausea, and diarrhea What are the side effects? -Few side effects (most allergy related)
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Vaccine Dilemma and Community Immunity

• Few scientific journals reported that vaccination
  caused severe side effects including autism and
  other disorders
• The journals were proven to be incorrect, yet
  many refuse to get vaccinated
• When most people are vaccinated nearly everyone
  is protected through Community Immunity

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