# Unit 8: Pollution: module 4.54 Health

<div id="bkmrk-module-54%3A-human-hea"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Module 54: Human health, pathogens, infectious diseases</span></div><div id="bkmrk--1">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-most-studies-are-ret">Most studies are retrospective: natural experiments (exposure caused some condition) often disasters (e.g. [Bhopal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster) and union carbide)  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Prospective study:</span> planned exposure (drug trial, animal testing)  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Synergistic reactions:</span> like drug combinations (don't take this medication with alcohol), combined impact is greater than sum of separate impacts  
  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Disease</span> (literally "lack of ease"): anything that interferes with normal body function  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Infectious diseases:</span> caused by agents ("pathogens": patho = harm, gen = makes stuff)  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Non-infectious disease: </span></div><div id="bkmrk-heart-disease-%28diet%2C">

- heart disease (diet, smoking, lack of exercise)
- diabetes (hereditary, diet, exercise, others)
- cancer (radiation, diet, heredity, exposure to free radicals)

</div><div id="bkmrk-infectious-disease-p"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Infectious disease pathogens:</span></div><div id="bkmrk-viruses-not-really-a">

- viruses-not really alive, DNA with a protein coat (why soap is effective: dissolves the protein coat, think of washing off cooked eggs from a pan)
- bacteria-can be gram positive or negative, aerobic or anaerobic (reason to leave wounds open to air)
- fungi-basically plants, they know how to fight viruses and bacteria
- protists-simple cell organisms
- parasites-worms, others (e.g. giardia)

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Historical pathogens:</span></div></div><div id="bkmrk-epidemic%3A-some-count"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Epidemic</span>: some countries impacted  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pandemic</span>: all countries impacted, e.g. COVID-19  
</div><div id="bkmrk-cholera%3A-bacteria-%28v">

- Cholera: bacteria (vibrio cholerae) causes dysentery, diarrhea
- Hepatitis: liver infection, A B C, airborne and fluids
- Plague: bacteria (Yersinia pestis), kille 25% of people in Europe 1334
- Malaria: "bad air" vs Buenos Aires ("good air"), plasmodium, no real cure, but as of 2025 an emerging vaccine, DDT used to reduce mosquito populations
- Tuberculosis: "TB", contagious bacterium (mycobacterium tuberculosis) invades lungs, fatal, often seen in gothic novels or stories (Les Miserables), lots of coughing spreading the bacteria, huge issue in Russia now with drug resistant TB emerging: folks sell their antibiotics for alcohol, lots of public transportation.
- [COVID-19](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19)  (why "corona"?)

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Emergent diseases:</span></div></div><div id="bkmrk-hiv-aids%3A-human-immu">

- [HIV AIDS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS): human immuno deficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, used to be terminal, attacks human T cells (immune system surveillance cells)
- [Ebola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola): hemorrhagic fever, almost always fatal
- [Mad cow disease (BSE)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy): Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, brain disease carried by feeding cows other cows (gross!) mediated by prions or protein bits
- Avian (bird) flu: carried by birds H5N1 (Histogram-Nucleic acid) human to human migration
- Swine flu: H1N1 human to human migration
- SARS: severe acute respiratory syndrome; early coronavirus (should sound familiar!)
- MERS: carried by camels, much more fatal, another coronavirus
- SARS-CoV-2: "COVID-19" or "COronaVIrus Disease 2019"
- West Nile virus: birds and mosquitoes
- Lyme disease: (borrelia burgdorferi) was just Northeast, carried by deer ticks, (exodus scapularis) causes immune system impact
- Zika virus: caused brain damage in infants, mosquitoes or sexual transmission (Haiti)

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Laws: </span></div><div>

- From video clean water act: CWA 1972 controlled surface waters (not wells)
- SWDA: safe water drinking act; set maximum levels for certain contaminants (mercury, lead, etc.)

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fun with GPT:</span></div></div></div><div id="bkmrk-ask-gpt-about-one-of">Ask GPT about one of the diseases above, share the prompt you used and the answer</div><div id="bkmrk-repeat-with-a-questi">Repeat with a question from the review modules on your iPad</div><div id="bkmrk--2">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-https%3A%2F%2Fchat.openai.">[https://chat.openai.com/](https://chat.openai.com/)  
</div><div id="bkmrk-login%3A-hpaelab4%40iclo">login: hpaelab4@icloud.com  </div><div id="bkmrk-password%3A-on-the-boa">password: on the board</div>  
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