CHAPTER 8

HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE

8.1 Common Diseases in

Humans
8.2 Immunity
Health, for a long time, was considered as a state of body
and mind where there was a balance of certain ‘humors’.
8.3 AIDS This is what early Greeks like Hippocrates as well as
8.4 Cancer Indian Ayurveda system of medicine asserted. It was
thought that persons with ‘blackbile’ belonged to hot
8.5 Drugs and Alcohol Abuse
personality and would have fevers. This idea was arrived
at by pure reflective thought. The discovery of blood
circulation by William Harvey using experimental method
and the demonstration of normal body temperature in
persons with blackbile using thermometer disproved the
‘good humor’ hypothesis of health. In later years, biology
stated that mind influences, through neural system and
endocrine system, our immune system and that our
immune system maintains our health. Hence, mind and
mental state can affect our health. Of course, health is
affected by –
(i) genetic disorders – deficiencies with which a child is
born and deficiencies/defects which the child inherits
from parents from birth;
(ii) infections and
(iii) life style including food and water we take, rest and
exercise we give to our bodies, habits that we have or
lack etc.

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The term health is very frequently used by everybody. How do we

define it? Health does not simply mean ‘absence of disease’ or ‘physical
fitness’. It could be defined as a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being. When people are healthy, they are more efficient at
work. This increases productivity and brings economic prosperity. Health
also increases longevity of people and reduces infant and maternal
mortality.
Balanced diet, personal hygiene and regular exercise are very important
to maintain good health. Yoga has been practised since time immemorial
to achieve physical and mental health. Awareness about diseases and
their effect on different bodily functions, vaccination (immunisation)
against infectious diseases, proper disposal of wastes, control of vectors
and maintenance of hygienic food and water resources are necessary for
achieving good health.
When the functioning of one or more organs or systems of the body is
adversely affected, characterised by various signs and symptoms, we say
that we are not healthy, i.e., we have a disease. Diseases can be broadly
grouped into infectious and non-infectious. Diseases which are easily
transmitted from one person to another, are called infectious diseases.
Infectious diseases are very common and every one of us suffers from
these at sometime or other. Some of the infectious diseases like AIDS are
fatal. Among non-infectious diseases, cancer is the major cause of death.
Drug and alcohol abuse also affect our health adversely.

8.1 COMMON DISEASES IN HUMANS

A wide range of organisms belonging to bacteria, viruses, fungi,
protozoans, helminths, etc., could cause diseases in man. Such disease-
causing organisms are called pathogens. Most parasites are therefore
pathogens as they cause harm to the host by living in (or on) them. The
pathogens can enter our body by various means, multiply and interfere
with normal vital activities, resulting in morphological and functional
damage. Pathogens have to adapt to life within the environment of the
host. For example, the pathogens that enter the gut must know a way of
surviving in the stomach at low pH and resisting the various digestive
enzymes. A few representative members from different groups of
pathogenic organisms are discussed here alongwith the diseases caused
by them. Preventive and control measures against these diseases in general,
are also briefly described.
146 Salmonella typhi is a pathogenic bacterium which causes typhoid
fever in human beings. These pathogens generally enter the small intestine
through food and water contaminated with them and migrate to other
organs through blood. Sustained high fever (39° to 40°C), weakness,
stomach pain, constipation, headache and loss of appetite are some of
the common symptoms of this disease. Intestinal perforation and death
may occur in severe cases. Typhoid fever could be confirmed by

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Widal test. A classic case in medicine, that of Mary Mallon nicknamed

Typhoid Mary, is worth mentioning here. She was a cook by profession
and was a typhoid carrier who continued to spread typhoid for several
years through the food she prepared.
Bacteria like Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae
are responsible for the disease pneumonia in humans which infects the
alveoli (air filled sacs) of the lungs. As a result of the infection, the alveoli
get filled with fluid leading to severe problems in respiration. The symptoms
of pneumonia include fever, chills, cough and headache. In severe cases,
the lips and finger nails may turn gray to bluish in colour. A healthy
person acquires the infection by inhaling the droplets/aerosols released
by an infected person or even by sharing glasses and utensils with an
infected person. Dysentery, plague, diphtheria, etc., are some of the other
bacterial diseases in man.
Many viruses also cause diseases in human beings. Rhino viruses
represent one such group of viruses which cause one of the most infectious
human ailments – the common cold. They infect the nose and respiratory
passage but not the lungs. The common cold is characterised by nasal
congestion and discharge, sore throat, hoarseness, cough, headache,
tiredness, etc., which usually last for 3-7 days. Droplets resulting from
cough or sneezes of an infected person are either inhaled directly or
transmitted through contaminated objects such as pens, books, cups,
doorknobs, computer keyboard or mouse, etc., and cause infection in a
healthy person.
Some of the human diseases are caused by protozoans too. You might
have heard about malaria, a disease man has been fighting since many
years. Plasmodium, a tiny protozoan is responsible for this disease. Different
species of Plasmodium (P. vivax, P. malaria and P. falciparum) are
responsible for different types of malaria. Of these, malignant malaria caused
by Plasmodium falciparum is the most serious one and can even be fatal.
Let us take a glance at the life cycle of Plasmodium (Figure 8.1).
Plasmodium enters the human body as sporozoites (infectious form)
through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquito. The parasites
initially multiply within the liver cells and then attack the red blood cells
(RBCs) resulting in their rupture. The rupture of RBCs is associated with
release of a toxic substance, haemozoin, which is responsible for the chill
and high fever recurring every three to four days. When a female Anopheles
mosquito bites an infected person, these parasites enter the mosquito’s
body and undergo further development. The parasites multiply within
them to form sporozoites that are stored in their salivary glands. When
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these mosquitoes bite a human, the sporozoites are introduced into his/
her body, thereby initiating the events mentioned above. It is interesting
to note that the malarial parasite requires two hosts – human and
mosquitoes – to complete its life cycle (Figure 8.1); the female Anopheles
mosquito is the vector (transmitting agent) too.

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