6.03 Transmission and Treatment

Bacteria and Antibiotics

Antibiotics are the medicines that we use to fight bacterial infections. They're like selective poisons. That is, they're chemicals that target the bacteria, but not your cells. The antibiotics may be used to destroy the cell wall of a bacterium or to alter the bacterium's ability to make energy. Without a cell wall, the bacterium does not have any protection. With no energy, the bacterium can not reproduce or continue life processes. Either way, the bacteria can't maintain their own homeostasis (balance) and will die.

Note: Antibiotics cannot be used to treat viral diseases. Viruses do not contain cells or cell walls and do not produce their own energy, so the antibiotics are not effective against them.

What About Viruses?

Have you ever wondered how we are infected with viruses, like a cold or the flu?

Viral infections can run from being quite unpleasant—like when you have a cold in which you can't breathe, your body aches, and you have a stuffy nose—to being quite serious, even life threatening, such as when someone has a virus like HIV or the Ebola virus.

One of the ways we can prevent the spread of viral infections is to learn as much as we can about how they spread and how they reproduce. This allows us to target those two processes in building our defenses against the virus.

You already had an introduction to how they reproduce. So now, let's take a look at how viruses are transmitted from one host to another, and what we can do about it!

Excursion 1:
Viral Transmission

Excursion 2:
Immunizations

How to Avoid Illnesses

Prevention is always the best choice for fighting infections caused by bacteria or viruses.

Investigate and learn about good antibacterial habits. From the link below, read through the introduction and the three sections in the menu. Add things worth remembering to your 6.03 Note Page.

World Wide Web icon CDC: Put Your Hands Together

Lab Activity: Caught Dirty Handed

Whether it is bacteria or viruses, we can cut down on the spread of both by lots of hand washing.

Okay. Let's get up and get dirty! It is time to put on your lab coats and do some experimenting. For this activity, you'll need to work with at least two other people: your parent(s), guardian(s), a brother, or a sister.

Access the lab at: Caught Dirty Handed.
Complete the activity and keep a copy of your work in your Travel Log. You will need the information in the activity assessment.

When you have reviewed all the information and completed the lab activity please move on to the Travel Log tab to complete this activity.