What is a disease? It is an abnormal condition in which the body of an organism is affected. Many diseases have come about by many factors; however, they can be divided into four main groups. They are pathogenic, deficiency, hereditary, and physiological. In this presentation, we’ll be looking at certain diseases which are pathogenic. In this category, microscopic organisms called pathogens, which are viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and worms, are the ones that cause the disease by living inside the host. Therefore, the relationship between the pathogen and the host is parasitism. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, or STD’s, are pathogenic, and are highly able to be transmitted from one person to another by means of sexual interaction, hence the name. The types of sexual interaction that can transmit STD’s from one person to another include vaginal, oral, and anal sex. However, they can also be transmitted through the unsafe use of IV drug needles, for example when they’re not sterilized after using the needles on an infected person, or other special blood treatments. Other ways of transmitting include breastfeeding and childbirth. They can even be transmitted by sharing sex toys with an infected person! Ongoing treatments and studies are taking place in order to take complete control of these diseases, and the branch of medicine in charge of this is called venereology.
2. What Is HIV/AIDS?
What is HIV? HIV stands for Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus. It is a common STD and infects approximately 34 million people worldwide as of 2010, and took the lives of more than 3 million last year. This virus is an extremely dangerous STD. HIV negatively alters the immune system. HIV can hide for long periods of time in cells in your body, and it attacks a very key part of the immune system. It attacks the T cells, or the CD4 cells, invading them in order to replicate. These cells are very vital, as these cells send out signals to activate