DP - Understanding the Disease Process Lesson

Understanding the Disease Process

"Ring-a-round a rosie, pocket full of posies, Ashes! Ashes!, WE all fall down!"

A popular children's rhyme has darker origins. A rhyme that told a grim tale for those who had been infected with bubonic, or Black Plague. The word "roses" referred to a red rash that was often the first symptom of infection. Posies were flowers that were put in the pockets that were thought to protect you from the disease. In other interpretations, the posies covered up the horrible smell of those with the disease and all of the corpses that piled up in the streets. "Ashes" could have referred to cremated bodies or it may have originally been "a-choo" to represent sneezing. Obviously, "we all fall down" refers to the deaths of those who had been infected. In London, at the time of the outbreak in the 1600s, the death rate was over 60%.
Humans have always been under assault from pathogens. Until the development of the germ theory, and aseptic techniques, people did not understand why you got sick or how to effectively treat diseases.   A plague could turn away armies, end wars, and cause a complete change in a government or culture. Plagues could even wipe out whole groups of people and destroy cultures.

Taken from Biologycorner.com

Much progress has been made since the 1600's when bubonic plague wiped out entire communities.   Now we understand just why and how we get sick.   However, we still have not figured out how to effectively treat all of the diseases that ail us.   In the previous lesson, you read about the body's defense against pathogens or what happens when the offense makes it past the defensive line?   Now we will discuss what strategies the offense employs to score a touchdown or make you sick.
Most pathogens try to be pretty clever when attacking your body.   After making it through your skin, mucosal membranes, or another portal of entry, most microbes do not cause illness immediately.

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