Aima Hasan
Unit 12B- Infection and Disease, Section 2
Methods Used to Prevent Infectious Diseases from Spreading
Prophylaxis:
Antibiotics:
Antibiotics are a type of drug that fights only infectious bacteria in the human body and cannot work on viral-
related infectious diseases. They attack the bacterial disease process by destroying the structure of the
bacteria and prevent the spread of bacteria, by destroying their mechanism of being able to divide or
reproduce. Some antibiotics work in a slightly different way of killing and preventing the spread of bacteria,
thus preventing infectious disease. Antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporin, kill bacteria outright. They
will attack the bacteria cell wall, the part of the cell which holds the whole bacteria cells together. This
sufficiently injures the cell, because of this, the bacteria can no longer attack the body, preventing further
damage caused to the body. However other antibiotics such as tetracycline or erythromycin, block the growth
of the bacteria or its reproduction rate. These types of antibiotics are also known as bacteriostatic antibiotics;
the growth and reproduction of the bacteria comes to a stop as they prevent nutrients needed for it to
reproduce, reaching the bacteria. This gives the human body’s own immune system a chance to fight back the
disease as the number of bacteria present in the body, at this time, are quite low, so the bacteria cannot carry
on with their process of destruction. Antibiotics can sometimes be prescribed to prevent an illness from
occurring, they can actually kill the bacteria before it has the chance to cause an infection. An example of this
may be when if a child, who has frequent UTIS (unitary track infections), may be given antibiotics to reduce
chance of it occurring again. Antibiotics can be consumed in a variety of forms: tablets, capsules, liquids,
chewables, ointments and drops. Antibiotics are a very effective type of treatment and prevention from
bacterial infectious diseases, as they are have a very powerful and useful role. However, they can produce
some side effects, which can be different in certain age groups. For example, children may experience stomach
discomfort, loose stools or nausea. Some young people may be allergic to the antibiotic of penicillin- this can
cause skin rashes and breathing difficulties. It is not worth giving penicillin as the symptoms related to an
allergic reaction caused by it, can become severe and life threatening (Healthychildren.org 2019).
Antimalarial:
Antimalarial is a drug/ medication used for the treatment and prevention of the malaria infection (UpToDate
2019). The antimalarial medication works by killing the malaria parasites during their development stage in
the liver and blood cells. You should make sure that you begin taking your antimalarial before you enter the
risk area, to ensure the medicine time to establish in your immune system. The malaria parasite takes at least
seven days to complete its lifecycle in humans; this is usually where symptoms such as: fever, fatigue,
headache and muscle ache. However, just because it takes seven days for the lifecycle to complete, doesn’t
mean the malaria symptoms come to a finish; realistically speaking, malaria symptoms actually take 14-30 days
to disappear, so to ensure you do not get malaria, continue to take antimalarial medication after leaving the
risk area, so that parasites don’t establish themselves.
Unit 12B- Infection and Disease, Section 2
Methods Used to Prevent Infectious Diseases from Spreading
Prophylaxis:
Antibiotics:
Antibiotics are a type of drug that fights only infectious bacteria in the human body and cannot work on viral-
related infectious diseases. They attack the bacterial disease process by destroying the structure of the
bacteria and prevent the spread of bacteria, by destroying their mechanism of being able to divide or
reproduce. Some antibiotics work in a slightly different way of killing and preventing the spread of bacteria,
thus preventing infectious disease. Antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporin, kill bacteria outright. They
will attack the bacteria cell wall, the part of the cell which holds the whole bacteria cells together. This
sufficiently injures the cell, because of this, the bacteria can no longer attack the body, preventing further
damage caused to the body. However other antibiotics such as tetracycline or erythromycin, block the growth
of the bacteria or its reproduction rate. These types of antibiotics are also known as bacteriostatic antibiotics;
the growth and reproduction of the bacteria comes to a stop as they prevent nutrients needed for it to
reproduce, reaching the bacteria. This gives the human body’s own immune system a chance to fight back the
disease as the number of bacteria present in the body, at this time, are quite low, so the bacteria cannot carry
on with their process of destruction. Antibiotics can sometimes be prescribed to prevent an illness from
occurring, they can actually kill the bacteria before it has the chance to cause an infection. An example of this
may be when if a child, who has frequent UTIS (unitary track infections), may be given antibiotics to reduce
chance of it occurring again. Antibiotics can be consumed in a variety of forms: tablets, capsules, liquids,
chewables, ointments and drops. Antibiotics are a very effective type of treatment and prevention from
bacterial infectious diseases, as they are have a very powerful and useful role. However, they can produce
some side effects, which can be different in certain age groups. For example, children may experience stomach
discomfort, loose stools or nausea. Some young people may be allergic to the antibiotic of penicillin- this can
cause skin rashes and breathing difficulties. It is not worth giving penicillin as the symptoms related to an
allergic reaction caused by it, can become severe and life threatening (Healthychildren.org 2019).
Antimalarial:
Antimalarial is a drug/ medication used for the treatment and prevention of the malaria infection (UpToDate
2019). The antimalarial medication works by killing the malaria parasites during their development stage in
the liver and blood cells. You should make sure that you begin taking your antimalarial before you enter the
risk area, to ensure the medicine time to establish in your immune system. The malaria parasite takes at least
seven days to complete its lifecycle in humans; this is usually where symptoms such as: fever, fatigue,
headache and muscle ache. However, just because it takes seven days for the lifecycle to complete, doesn’t
mean the malaria symptoms come to a finish; realistically speaking, malaria symptoms actually take 14-30 days
to disappear, so to ensure you do not get malaria, continue to take antimalarial medication after leaving the
risk area, so that parasites don’t establish themselves.
