1. 6
GERMS, DISEASES and OUR BODY
How would you feel if some unknown person were to walk
into our house and start staying there?
…. You would be angry. Isn’t it?
If it was to cause us harm or give us only prob-
lems and nothing else?
Would we still keep quite and let that person
stay?
No, we would not.
We would be angry, trouble him, fight with him
and call our neighbours and friends - even the police - to throw him
out. And we would remember his face so that next time if he tried to
enter again, we would be able to take quick action to beat him back.
Our body behaves in exactly the same fashion with germs that
come into the body from outside. Our body tries to throw them
out if they cause harm to us.
But before we proceed further, let us try to understand what
are germs and what is our body’s relationship to them.

2. 6-1
GERMS
Have you suffered from a cold? Surely you must have. And have you seen
anyone suffering from TB? Or malaria?? All these diseases are caused by
germs.
Germs are small living creatures that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
They can be seen with different types of lenses or microscopes (my-kro-
skopes). Germs may be very harmful to the body once they
enter it, but many may also be helpful. In fact most do no
harm but there are some that can cause disease.
different types of bacteria as seen
under the microscope
Germs are of different types.
1. Bacteria: For example, TB is caused by bacteria. It is a disease in
which the bacteria (back- teeria) get into the body, wait for some time
until the body is weak, and then attack the lungs. Other illnesses caused
by Bacteria can be Pneumonia, Sore Throat, Cholera etc. Bacteria are
such small germs that we can only see them with a microscope. We have
good and cheap medicines to kill most of the bacteria.
T.B of the lungs is
caused by bacteria
spread by cough /
breathe
2. Virus: Common cold is caused by a group of germs called viruses
(singular -virus (Vye-rhes). Viruses also cause polio, AIDS, jaundice
and children’s diarrhoeas.
Much smaller than bacteria, you need very big and powerful micro-
scopes to see viruses. Normally, most viruses are self - limiting i.e. they
finish off by themselves. But the damage that they do to the body can
last forever. Like in polio, after paralysing a person’s leg forever, the Virus causes common
virus finishes off by itself. There are very few medicines for killing cold. There is no
viruses and most are very costly. A poor person cannot afford these medicine to kill the virus
medicines. for cold.
3. Other Germs: Malaria is also the result of a germ getting into our blood,
but this germ is neither a virus nor a bacteria. It is larger, but still needs to be
seen under a microscope and is commonly called the malaria parasite. The
common round rash that many of us get on our groins during summers is due
to a fungus related to the green one that we see on a piece of roti or bread
after a few days in the rainy season.
Malaria fever is Since we know that only a few infections go onto become a disease, we
caused by malaria
can take certain measures to avoid disease.
parasite which gets
into our body from a
mosquito bite

3. 6-2
How do the germs spread?
Germs spread from one person to another. Only occasionally, we may also get germs of some diseases from
some animals. If germs atack our lungs,or the throat, they would stay in the lining. Every time we breathe
they’ll come out with the air and moisture. Anyone closeby or even sitting in the room may breathe in these
germs. Thus, the infection is passed on and starts in another person.
In cholera, polio and dysentery, the germs come out with the stools or shit. If some flies sit on the shit and
then fly to sit on someone else’s food, the germs will get into the next person’s body. In other cases like
malaria, germs from one person’s blood are taken to another person by the female Anopheles mosquito.
Having sex with someone who has HIV or AIDS can also spread the germs through the small cuts that occur
during sex. Let us know the common ways some germs are spread among human beings.
a. By “Shit to Mouth” : The 5 “Fs”
1. fingers
2. flies
3. fluid (water or milk)
4. food
5. faeces (shit)
For example diseases such as Cholera, Polio, Dysentery, Worms, Hepatitis (Jaundice) A.
b. By blood/ injections: Hepatitis (Jaundice) B, AIDS
c. By touching clothes, cup, door handle, etc.: Scabies, Lice, Dysentery, Eye
infection, Boils.
d. By Sex: Hepatitis B, AIDS, Gonorrhoea
e. By touch with soil: Worms, Tetanus etc.
f. By cough/ breath/ sneeze: TB, Pneumonia, Whooping cough, Cold.
g. By insect bites: Malaria, Kala azar.
h. Mother to child in womb: AIDS, Syphilis, Herpes.

4. 6-3
GERMS : INFECTIONS & DISEASE
Germs do not create problems the moment they enter the body. For some time, they may do nothing but
wait and watch for the person to become a bit weak before they can attack. Others may take time to grow
into enough numbers before they can try to attack the body’s defence forces.
When the germ enters the body, we call it infection. When the infection leads to harmful
effects on the body, only then we call it a disease.
How Long Does It Take for Infection to Disease?
The time taken from infection to become a disease may differ from a few hours to many years. For
example. It may take two to six weeks from the time the virus for jaundice (Hepatitis A) gets into the body
(infection) until we get the first problems like lack of appetite and vomiting (disease). The bacteria that is
responsible for TB is seen to be present in four out of ten Indians after the age of forty (infection), but only
a few of these people actually may ever suffer from TB (disease). HIV infection that leads to the fatal
disease AIDS takes after ten years or more before the person even knows he /she has got the disease.
What Happens When Germs Attack the body?
Earlier we had discussed about our reaction when someone enters our
house. The body also reacts in the same manner. For some time, the body
keeps a steady watch on the germ. It starts a process where its defence
forces learn more about the germ and starts preparing weapons against
the germ. This may take upto three weeks.
However, if the germ has made a visit earlier also, such preparations may
take no more than two days. If the germ decides to now harm the body
Germs wait to attack and cause disease, the defence forces get into action. Blood along with its
and harm your body. soldiers, the white blood cells, rushes to the site of attack.
Let us see what happens when we cut our finger and germs enter through this open skin and attack us.
What do you think happens? A lot of blood with the white
blood cells who are our body’s police, rushes to the spot
to fight this enemy. With the extra blood that has suddenly
come in, that spot gets overcrowded. It then swells and
pain is produced. With all this fighting between the germs
and our body’s police, the whole area become red and a White Blood Cells Protect your
lot of heat is produced. Body and fights against germs.
After all, what else would you expect when two enemies fight? The body then tries to prevent further
damage and control the situation. A “curfew” is imposed in the area: so no movement !
In medical terms all this is called Inflammation.
Five clear signals tell us that the body is fighting an outside attack, whether due to a germ infection or
due to an injury. Inflammation also helps the repair process. The five signals of Inflammation are:
1. Pain
2. Swelling
3. Redness
4. Heat
5. No movement

5. 6-4

6. 6-5
MEDICINES THAT KILL GERMS
We have many medicines
these days that can kill What is the “Course”
germs. Whether we take the of A Medicne?
medicine by mouth or by in-
jection, it reaches our blood Not all germs die with a single tablet. It is
and then reaches the affected our aim to kill all or almost all germs that
site of the body and fights the have entered the body to do harm. Differ-
germs. ent medicines take different lengths of time
to work. Each medicine has to be taken
Types of Germ Killing Medicines for a specific period - commonly called
“course”-to be able to kill all the germs.
Against bacteria - commonly called antibiotics. Some com-
monly used antibioics are: Amoxycillin (A-moks-i-si-lin), Usually, the course is three to five days.
Penicillin (pen-i-si-lin), Co-trimoxazole (ko-trim-ox-a-zol), But for TB, it may take six to eight months
and Doxycycline (Doks-i-sy-klin), etc and for leprosy, about a year. On the other
hand, a one-day treatment is enough for
Against viruses - Also antibiotics, they are helpful only most intestinal worms. Doctors are look-
when the infection is yet to become a disease fully. E.g., ing for more and more drugs that can cure
Acyclovir, Idoxuridine. Once it becomes a disease, there diseases by giving only one single dose
are few medicines to get rid of a virus. of medicine.
Against single cell germs - Like Chloroquine for malaria, Metronidazole for Amoebiasis
Against fungus - Fluconazole for fungus of the nails, etc Miconazole for skin fungus.
Against worms - some baby worms may not be very big and can be seen in the blood only with a micro-
scope. People can take medicines like DCC against it. Albendazole is good against all worms staying inside
the intestines.
Why must we complete our “course” of medicines?
Suppose we have 100 germs in our body that can be killed by a medicine
that takes five days to kill them. After two days of treatment, many of the
germs would have been killed and we would feel better. Only those germs
that are the strong ones will remain. If we stop taking medicine any longer,
these few strong germs would start growing in numbers. These strong germs
can attack the body once again, but it would take more days to cure, because
all these are of the stronger variety.
Now, suppose 100 of these strong germs were to reach another person and
he also were to take medicines only for a day or two. He will feel better
because some of the germs would have died, but the strongest ones will
remain. Thus, the strong germs have now become stronger. And this gets passed on again... Gradually, we
would get only the strongest of the germs and they would not be killed by our medicine. We would have
to look for more powerful and newer medicine that would be costlier.
Hence, we must ensure that medicines that kill germs, like the ones mentioned earlier, should be taken
or given until their full course is completed. Or else, we will not only get a repeat of our infection by
stronger germs, but will also pass them to our friends and neighbours. This would require treating dis-
eases with costlier and costlier medicines that the poor cannot afford.

7. 6-6
Some Questions about Germ Killing Medicines
Can one get well from an infectious disease even without medicines?
The answer is YES. Until fifty years ago, we hardly had any medicines to kill germs. Yet, many
people did survive. Even for diseases like TB, three out of ten patients survived with good diet and
good air alone. But, the chances of surviving from the disease become greater if we give germ-
killing medicines, especially for older people and young children.
If these medicines are very costly, the poor cannot use them. Hence it is our duty as health workers
to give cheaper germ-killing medicine. We should educate her why completing the entire course of
the medicine is important for her and her friends. By this we will be able to ensure that these cheap
medicines will be useful for poor people for a long time to come!
Do injections kill germs faster than Are injections better than
pills? pills?
All medicines have to reach the blood before they can
kill the germs. If a tablet starts acting in an hour, an in- Compared to
jection of the same medicine would start its effect within pills, injections
ten minutes. But, the effect of an injection will wear out are costly and
just as fast as it startng acting. have a greater
chance of severe
For germ-killing medi- reaction. Injec-
cines, it is important to tions are to be
keep a steady level of given only when
medicine in the body to absolute neces-
be able to kill the fast sary. Even then, make sure that the injections/
growing germs. As the effect of injec- syringes are boiled - not just heated - for at
tions finish very soon, we will have to least twenty minutes. Unless this is done, they
take injections every few hours. This may pass on far more dangerous germs like
is possible only when we are in a hospital, but very diffi- that of AIDS and jaundice from one person to
cult otherwise. If we cannot take an injection more often another. Do not ask for injections and of given,
than once or twice a day, pills are far more effective everyone should ASK HER DOCTOR why she
against the germs! That is why pills are much better to has been given an injection and not a pill !
take than injections.
Do We Need Painkillers?
What is the first thing that most of us do when we have fever or pain in any part of our body? Don’t
we rush to eat some painkillers like Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Diclofenac and such else.
These are anti-inflammatory medicines that fight inflammation bringing down fever and stopping the
pain. We feel “better” after this and think that we have done our body a good service. But actually we
have stopped our body’s natural repair and defense mechanism from working properly. Such medi-
cines will actually make the defences weaker against an organism or delay any repair.
Hence it is better to take some medicine that kills the germs responsible for the infection rather than
take anti-inflammatory pills. For instance, malaria parasites cause fever and shivering. Instead of
taking fever-reducing tablets like Paracetamol, it is better to eat medicines like Chloroquine that kill
the malaria parasite. Not only does Paracetamol delay the clearance of parasite, it also gives the
patient a false assurance that the disease is better, although the real situation may be different. Medi-
cines like PARACETAMOL though safe, need to be taken only when really required!

8. 6-7
Know the Answers
Germs, Diseases & Our Body
Please Mark Whether “Right” or “Wrong”
1. Antibiotics can kill viruses of illnesses like AIDS, Common Cold,
Polio etc.
2. Fever, pain, redness, swelling and inability to move the part help the
body in fighting injury & infections.
3. Pain killers like Aspirin, Paracetamol & Ibuprofen are very impor-
tant to treat boils caused by bacteria.
4. Germkilling medicines must not be given with cough syrups to treat
pneumonia.
5. Cleanliness & medicines are more important than good nutrition to
prevent diseases.
6. Newer medicines are necessary for our illnesses.
7. Injections are always good because they kill our germs faster.
8. The five F’s to spread germs of the digestive system are:
a. _______________________
b. _______________________
c. _______________________
e. _______________________
f. _______________________