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How Pathogens Make Us Sick

WebPathogenic microbes challenge the immune system in many ways. Viruses make us sick by killing cells or disrupting cell function. Our bodies often respond with fever (heat …

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URL: http://needtoknow.nas.edu/id/infection/how-pathogens-make-us-sick/

Public Health Capacity

WebPublic health advocates have called for improved surveillance to better monitor infectious diseases across the country. Part of this effort was the formation of the National …

Category:  Health Go Health

Disease Threats, Influenza — The National Academies

WebThe “flu” has become a popular catchall term to describe anything from a bad cold to stomach distress. But real flu, influenza, is the defined illness that many public health …

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Prevention & Treatment, Microbe Awareness — The National …

WebMicrobe Awareness. Daily habits provide some of the strongest defenses against infectious diseases. Among the sensible actions you can take: Keep immunizations up to date. …

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Disease Threats — The National Academies

WebBetween 1976 and 2006, annual estimates of deaths from flu-related complications in the United States ranged from 3,000 to 49,000, depending on several factors. We tend to …

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How Infection Works, Microbes & Humans — The National …

WebThere is a close connection between microbes and humans. Experts believe that about half of all human DNA originated from viruses that infected and embedded their nucleic acid …

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Disease Threats, Antibiotic Resistance — The National Academies

WebAntibiotic resistance, also referred to as antimicrobial resistance, has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become …

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Disease Threats, Foodborne Pathogens — The National Academies

WebThe most common causes of foodborne illness include several kinds of bacterial infections. Campylobacter is the most frequently identified bacterial cause of diarrheal illness in the …

Category:  Food Go Health

Types of Microbes — The National Academies

WebLooking for reliable information about the types of microbes that can cause disease? The National Academies, advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine, …

Category:  Medicine Go Health

National Academies Presents: What You Need to Know About …

WebNational borders do little to block the path of infectious disease. Learn how our modern way of life contributes to the emergence and spread of diseases. Globalization. Climate …

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How Infection Works, Bacteria — The National Academies

WebA broader term, antimicrobial resistance, includes resistance to drugs that treat infections, viruses, or parasites. Unlike more complex forms of life, bacteria carry only one set of …

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Disease Threats, Global Killers — The National Academies

WebIn 2014, there were an estimated 6 million new cases of TB and 1.5 million deaths, even though the incidence of TB worldwide since 2000 has fallen by an average of 1.5 percent …

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How Infection Works, Entering the Human Host

WebEntering the Human Host. Microorganisms capable of causing disease—or pathogens —usually enter our bodies through the eyes, mouth, nose, or urogenital openings, or …

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National Academies Presents: What You Need to Know About …

WebSound decisions by individuals, communities, and the nation depend on trustworthy and objective energy information. To help fill that need, the National Academies of Sciences, …

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The National Academies presents: What You Need to Know About …

WebZika Virus. Zika is usually caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Although Zika has been documented since 1947, the latest outbreak was reported in Brazil in 2015, with the …

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Global Challenges, Globalization — The National Academies

WebGlobalization. Today’s world is a global village with growing concentrations of people in huge cities, mass migrations forced by social or economic pressures, and accelerating …

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The National Academies presents: What You Need to Know About …

WebMRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to many of the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staph infections. …

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Prevention & Treatment, Public Health in Developing Nations — …

WebThe gap in life expectancy between the richest and the poorest countries now exceeds 40 years—in large measure owing to the toll of infectious diseases.Safe water supplies, …

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Disease Threats, Animal Carriers — The National Academies

WebSome zoonotic infections move directly from animals to humans. In such cases, an animal is the natural host—or reservoir—for the pathogen and through encounters often spurred …

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Global Challenges, Bioterrorism — The National Academies

WebBioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins, or other agents to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. According to experts, the threat of global …

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