(i) Which of these is an acute ailment and why: tuberculosis, cancer, diarrhoea elephantiasis?
(ii) If penicillin is given to a patient suffering from jaundice, will it have any effect?
(iii) When is a disease categorized as a communicable disease? Give example.
(i) Diarrhoea is an acute ailment as, it is a short term disease and does not cause any persistent effects on person’s health.
(ii) Penicillin given to a patient suffering from jaundice
will have no effect. Jaundice is caused by a virus. Penicillin blocks the biochemical pathways in bacteria. As, viruses do not use such pathway. So, they remain unaffected by this antibiotic.
(iii) When the microbial agent causing a disease move from
an affected person to a healthy person through air, water or vector, it is categorized as a communicable disease, e.g. pneumonia, cholera.