AIR BORNE
INFECTIONS
PRESENTATION BY
ASST. PROF DIMPLE PARATE
INTRODUCTION
• Diseases transmitted through air as a medium are called Air
borne diseases.
• Sneezing, coughing, talking are efficient methods of
transferring microbes from one respiratory tract to another.
• Some viruses or bacteria take flight and hang in the air or land
on other people or surfaces.
• Airborne pathogenic microorganisms take residence inside
the host body.
COMMON AIRBORNE DISEASES
1. Diphtheria
2. Whooping cough (pertussis)
3. Tuberculosis
4. Measles, Mumps
5. Chickenpox
6. Common cold
7. Influenza
8. Fungal diseases
DIPHTHERIA
➢ Causative agent : Corynebacterium diptheriae
➢ Area affected : Upper Respiratory Tract
➢ Spread : The bacterium is well suited to droplet transmission and is very
resistant to drying.
➢ Characteristic : tough grayish membrane that forms in the throat in
response to the infection. It contains fibrin, dead tissue, and bacterial cells
and can totally block the passage of air to the lungs.
➢ Cutaneous diphtheria is known. It affects the skin, usually at a wound or
lesion.
➢ Symptoms : Sore throat, low fever, cutaneous lesions, difficulty in
breathing
➢ Treatment : Even though antibiotics such as penicillin and erythromycin
control the growth of the bacteria, they do not neutralize the diphtheria
toxin. Thus antibiotics should be used only in conjunction with antitoxin.
WHOOPING COUGH
(PERTUSSIS)
➢ Causative agent : Bordetella pertussis
➢ Area affected : Lower Respiratory Tract
➢ Spread : Tracheal cytotoxin, a fixed cell wall fraction of the
bacterium, is responsible for damage to the ciliated cells, and
pertussis toxin enters the bloodstream and is associated with
systemic symptoms of the disease.
➢ Symptoms : constant cough, common cold
➢ Treatment : Treatment of pertussis with antibiotics, most
commonly erythromycin or other macrolides, is not effective
after onset of the paroxysmal coughing stage but may reduce
transmission.
TUBERCULOSIS
➢ Causative agent : Mycobacterium
tuberculosis
➢ Area infected : Lower Respiratory
Tract
➢ Other strains causing the
disease : M. bovis, M. avium
➢ Spread : Through stages
➢ Symptoms : Coughing, loss of
weight and vigour, blood stained
sputum is released.
➢ Treatment : Multiple-drug therapy
MEASLES
➢ Causative agent : Paramyxovirus; Morbilli virus
➢ Area infected : entire body
➢ Spread : through nose and throat
➢ Symptoms : high fever, runny nose, red skin rashes, watery eyes,
loss of appetite
➢ Treatment : Measles vaccine and antibiotics for reduction of fever
MUMPS
➢ Causative agent : Mumps virus
➢ Area infected : URT
➢ Spread : person to person contact and
respiratory droplets.
➢ Symptoms : high fever, fatigue, body ache,
head ache.
➢ Treatment : No specific treatment
CHICKEN POX
➢ Causative agent : Varicella Zoster virus
➢ Area infected : Entire body
➢ Spread : person to person contact and
respiratory droplets and blood stream.
➢ Symptoms : high fever, fatigue, body ache,
head ache, reddish pinkish bumps appear on
skin.
➢ Treatment : acetaminophen to prevent fever
COMMON COLD
➢ Causative agent : 85% caused by Rhinovirus and Coronavirus
➢ Area infected : Upper Respiratory Tract
➢ Spread : person to person contact and respiratory droplets.
➢ Symptoms : runny or blocked nose, loss of taste, difficulty in
breathing.
➢ Treatment : No specific treatment
INFLUENZA
➢ Causative agent : Influenza virus
➢ Area infected : Lower Respiratory Tract
➢ Spread : person to person contact and respiratory
droplets.
➢ Symptoms : The flu is characterized by chills, fever,
headache, and muscular aches.
➢ Treatment : The antiviral drugs amantadine and
rimantadine significantly reduce the symptoms of
influenza
FUNGAL DISEASES
1. Histoplasmosis: Breathing spores of
fungus i.e. Histoplasma.
2. Aspergillosis: Breathing spores of
fungus i.e. Aspergillus.
3. Cryptococcosis: Breathing spores of
fungus i.e. Cryptococcus neoformans.
4. Coccidioidomycosis: Infection caused
by fungus i.e. Coccidioides.
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