The 21st Century Schoolhouse
| Environmental Issues |
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Unit Project |
| Kellar & Goldstein |
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Period 1& 2 |
THE KILLERS AMONG US
| DIRECTIONS: |
After in-class discussions on infectious diseases, reading the book The Hot Zone, and the Time magazine article "The Killers All Around", and watching the videos Can you Still Get Polio?, The 1918 Influenza Epidemic, and The Plague Fighters, complete the following activities. |
1. Using the given list of infectious diseases, categorize them into a chart with headings.
For each disease, write a brief description of the disease, where it is found, and what
the treatment is, if any.
| AIDS |
Measles |
| Bubonic Plague |
Menigicoccimea |
| Cholera |
Menigitis |
| Dengue Fever |
Oropouche |
| Diptheria |
Pertussis |
| Ebola |
Pneumonia |
| E. coli |
Polio |
| Encephalitis |
Sabia |
| Giardia |
Scarlet Fever |
| Hantavirus |
Schistosomiasis |
| Hepatitis B |
Small Pox |
| Influenza |
Streptococcus a |
| Junin |
Tetanus |
| Lassa |
Tuberculosis |
| Leishmaniasis |
Typhoid Fever |
| Lyme Disease |
Typhus |
| Machupo |
"X" |
| Malaria |
Yellow Fever |
| Marburg |
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Sample chart:
| Name |
Description |
Location |
Treatment |
| Influenza |
respiratory disease with fever, cough, headache, body aches, lethargy, and inflamed respiratory membranes |
worldwide |
some vaccines available |
2. Research as many of the infectious diseases listed in question #1 above as you can in
terms of when they first occured or when there were major outbreaks or epidemics of
the disease. Construct a timeline that shows these major outbreaks/epidemics
throughout human history. Make sure that the timeline is accurate with consistent time
intervals.
3. Scientists have speculated on many reasons why there have been outbreaks of new
diseases in the world in the past 30-40 years. For each of the following 7 reasons,
explain and/or diagram how they could be responsible for the rash of new or old
disease outbreaks. Provide at least one specific example each of a disease to back up
your explanations .
a. mutations (especially in terms of host hopping and in terms of rate of
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opportunity of mutation.) |
b. resistance to antibiotics (among bacteria)
c. transfer of toxin -producing genes
d. larger numbers of people encroaching on untouched land
e. climatic changes
f. increasing density of human population
g. travel systems becoming faster and more networked
4. The Bubonic Plague ripped through the human population in the 13th and 14th
centuries. Five outbreaks of Ebola have occured in the last 20 years and many
scientists speculate that another, stronger strain of Ebola could make an explosive
outbreak worldwide. Influenza is another infectious disease that continues to have
new strains develop that can have lethal impacts, much as the Spansih Flu of 1918
did and the Hong Kong Bird Flu of 1997-98. Many more deadly diseases are
making themselves known or are making a comeback into the human population
and threatening to reach epidemic levels in various parts of the world.
In a detailed essay, discuss and evaluate solutions designed to control or prevent
the occurrence of such epidemics. Select ONE of the following areas as a focal
point.
a. The role of governments and international organizations (i.e. The World Health Organization , The Center for Disease Control, etc.)
b. The role of education and the media
c. The balance of modern medical technology (i.e. medicines, vaccines, expertise, doctors, supplies, equipment) between first and third world nations.
d. The role of outlook centers and containment practices currently in existence.
5. In a visual or audio format, create a public information campaign for one of the
infectious dieseases listed in question #2. Your public information campaign must
define the disease, explain the causes (if known), discuss the effects and focus on
cure and prevention. You may want to consider a poster, a public health brochure,
a short video clip, a presentation to students, a website, or any other creative idea
that you can come up with to "get the word out" to the general public. Feel free to
work in teams of TWO for the public information campaign.
Copyright - The 21st Century
Schoolhouse 1997