BIOLOGY CLASS IX

DISEASES
What is health?
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-
being of a person.

Factors affecting health.

The factors affecting health include:

1. Physical environmental factors. E.g. Heat, cold, light etc.

2. Social environmental factors. E.g. Work pressure, housing

conditions.

3. Nutritional habits and balanced diet.

4. Personal hygiene

5. Public cleanliness

6. Yoga and regular exercise.

What is virulence?

Virulence is the ability of the pathogen to invade the host and

cause damage to it.

What is pathogenicity?
The ability of a pathogen to gain entry and produce symptoms of
a disease is known as its pathogenicity.

What is pathogen?
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The disease causing microorganism (bacteria, virus etc.) is called

as a pathogen.

What are deficiency diseases?

1. Disease developed due to deficiency of dietary vitamins,

minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fats are called
deficiency diseases.

2. Examples: Beriberi caused due to deficiency of

Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Kwashiorkor and
Marasmus caused due to the deficiency of proteins in
the diet.

What are contagious diseases?

Diseases which spread by just mere close contact between
the infected person and the susceptible person are called
contagious diseases.

Examples: Small pox, Chicken pox, Measles, Mumps, etc.

What are non-contagious diseases?

Diseases which spread from an infected person to a healthy
individual via, a transport vehicle vector such as air, water or
food are called non-contagious diseases.

Examples: Malaria, Hepatitis, Diabetes etc.

What are non-communicable diseases? Give some

examples.
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If a disease does not spread from one person to another

person it is said to be non-communicable. Non-communicable
diseases are caused from improper nutrition, heredity, or due
to the factors involving the environment.

Some of the examples of non-communicable diseases are

cancer, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism,
hypertension, gout etc.

What are congenital diseases?

1. Diseases which develop in an embryo during

pregnancy and are present since birth are called
congenital diseases.

2. They are inheritable.

3. It may be caused due to Chromosomal aberration (e.g.

Turners syndrome, Downs syndrome etc.) or Gene
mutations (Colour blindness, Haemophilia, Sickle cell
anaemia etc.)

Difference between Communicable and Non-communicable

diseases

Communicable Non-communicable
diseases diseases

These are diseases

These are diseases
which do not spread
which spread from one
from one individual to
person to another.
the other.
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Communicable Non-communicable
diseases diseases

Caused by many other

Caused by pathogens. agents, but not
pathogens.

What are acquired diseases?

Diseases which develop only after birth and are inheritable are
called acquired diseases.

What are lifestyle diseases? Give some examples of

lifestyle diseases
Can a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise and a proper diet
improve the quality of our life? The answer is of course yes. It not
only improves the quality of our life but also increase our energy
and vigor besides a sharp sense of well-being.

What is lifestyle disease? Lifestyle disease, also known as the

diseases of civilization are health problems that act in response to
changes in lifestyle or we may say due to abnormal lifestyle
changes.

Our lifestyle can make a big difference in our life. Stress of

modern day living, poor eating habits, sleep dispossession,
sedentary lifestyle, drug abuse, tobacco smoking, and alcohol
drinking contribute many lifestyle diseases in our lives.
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A proper dietary and lifestyle choices can prevent damage to

the cardiovascular system. The risk factors associated with
cardiovascular disease include smoking, excessive alcohol
consumption, lack of exercise and physical activity, obesity,
air pollution and chronic stress.

A change in lifestyle in regard to a healthy diet, moderate

weight loss, and exercise can prevent several cases of
diabetes.

As tobacco smoke accounts for cancer, many cancers could

be prevented by changes in lifestyle.

Lifestyle diseases can include asthma, hypertension, obesity,

cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, stroke, cancer, renal failure
etc.
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What is allergy?
Some people are sensitive to certain particles in the environment
and suffer from allergies. While some allergies have minor effects
others are quite severe and need hospitalization. An inappropriate
immune system activity can lead to allergies.

Allergies are hypersensitivities to certain substances,

such as mites in dust, pollen, specific foods or drugs,
animal dander, animal hair etc. And the substances to which
such an immune response is produced are called allergens. While
some allergens affect only the exposed area, others are absorbed
or injected into the bloodstream.

In other words an allergy is an exaggerated/inappropriate

response of the immune system to certain allergen present
in the environment.

Symptoms of allergic reactions include sneezing, watery eyes,

running nose and difficulty in breathing.

Allergy is due to the release of chemicals like histamine and

serotonin from the mast cells.

There are a variety of tests to diagnose the cause of allergy. The

patient is exposed to possible allergens by placing it on the skin
or by injecting with very small doses of possible allergens and
watching for the reactions such as swelling etc.
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If a person presents with acute allergy-like symptoms, the

allergen-specific IgE antibody test is done to screen whether a
person is allergic to a particular substance.

To quickly reduce the symptoms of allergy drugs like anti-

histamine, adrenalin and steroids are used.

What is a drug?
Drug is defined as any substance, when taken by the living
organism, may modify one or more of its functions.

Drug is a chemical substance which when taken alters the

metabolism of the body.

What is drug addiction?

The regular habit of intake of drugs leading to physical,
mental and psychological dependence is called drug addiction.

It is the self-administration of drugs for non-medical

reasons.

It is described as a state, psychic and also physical, resulting from

the interaction between a living organism and a drug, shown by
behavioural responses that always include a compulsion to take
the drug on a regular basis to experience its psychic effects and
avoid discomfort of its absence.

A person may show dependency on more than one drug.

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Addiction is harmful for the individual because it leads to mental

and physical degeneration and is also harmful for the
society.

Drug addiction reasons

The reasons for drug addiction are:

1. Association with drug addicts

2. Curiosity

3. Insecurity among students due to drop in academic

performance.

4. Unexplained absence from school/college.

5. To overcome frustration and depressions.

6. Relief from pain.

7. Looking for a different world

8. Desire to do more work

9. Excitement

10. Aggressive behaviour

11. Deteriorating relationship with family members or

friends.

12. Depression and fatigue

13. Adventure, false motive.

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Uses of drugs.
Drugs are prescribed by physicians for:

1. Fighting infections

2. Curing diseases

3. Altering moods

4. Enhancing physical and mental functions

However, the complete dependency of a patient on drugs is called

as Drug dependency.