Public Health - Communicable Diseases

Unit 12: Public Health

Communicable diseases are things which are spread from one person onto another. This can also be spread from an animal onto a person. The way that these are usually spread can be through viruses and bacteria but it can also occur through blood and bodily fluids. A few examples of communicable diseases include the following:

• Flu
• HIV
• Measles
• Rabies
• Ebola

Non-communicable diseases are examples of medical conditions. The medical conditions are non-infectious they are due to things such as lifestyle choices. This can include things such as smoking, drinking and unhealthy diets. A few examples of non-communicable diseases are the following:

• Heart diseases
• Strokes
• Cancers
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s

Measles is an example of a communicable disease. It can be highly contagious and it can lead to serious effects on individuals such as blindness and them loosing there hearing. In some severe cases measles can also lead to death. Measles contains droplets that come out our mouth and noses this is how it can be passed on from one person to another. The way which measles can be prevented is that people are recommended to take vaccinations. The name of the vaccinations is the MMR vaccination which stands for Measles, Mumps and Rubella. This is advertised in schools as children sometimes get them taken at school but most people get them taken when they are a child and then they will get another one before the start of school. Another way to prevent measles from spreading is by making sure you cover your mouth and nose when you are sneezing as it stops bacteria from spreading through the little infectious droplets.

Diabetes is an example of a non-communicable disease. It can be passed on to other people but over time as it can be inherited but its not contagious. Diabetes is an illness which you can never get rid of once you have got it. Diabetes alters how the body’s ability to use insulin in the correct way. Type 1 diabetes is when the cells in the body make insulin attached to the immune system and they don’t work which will then lead to insulin doesn’t get produced. Type 2 diabetes is where the cells in the body stop reacting to insulin gets produced in the body and doesn’t make the right amount of insulin. This is the most common type of diabetes. The way which diabetes can be controlled of prevention diabetes is based around people’s lifestyle. Diabetes can be prevented by having a balanced diet which doesn’t overload as being overweight or obese is one of the main causes of people developing type 2 diabetes. Exercise also contributes it keeps weight down and stops someone from being overweight. Another way to prevent this is through exercising as this reduces risk of cholesterol levels becoming low.