Bioscience - Peter Fever - Peter Throat - Assessment Answer

Bioscience Assignment

Assignment Task

Question 1

Fever is a rise in the temperature, beyond the normally acceptable range, in the human body. Peter’s fever occurs due to the overstimulation of his body’s immune system. This overstimulation comes from pyrogens that travel through the blood stream on their way to the hypothalamus that resides in the brain. This hypothalamus is charged with temperature regulation. Once the pyrogens reach the hypothalamus, they attach themselves to the hypothalamus and this leads to the rising of body temperatures (WHO, 2015).

Fever has several benefits to the human body. Raised body temperatures have been known to kill certain bacteria or viruses that do not thrive in high temperatures. If a person has fever, he might be unable to fight off the infection. Another benefit of a fever is that it acts as a signal to the body’s defense of impending attack. This warning triggers white blood cells which are released into the body to fight off the infection (Agrawal et al., 2013).

Question 2

Although antibiotics are ineffective against influenza, Peter’s GP has prescribed them to him. Scholars argue that although the antibiotics do not lessen the infection, they provide relief for some of the symptoms that the patient is displaying. The GP could have prescribed phenoxymethylpenicillin as a relief from the symptoms that the patient has (Lehne, Mooore, & Hamilton, 2013).

Phenoxymethylpenicillin is taken orally because it is relatively more stable than other forms of penicillin. Structurally, Phenoxymethylpenicillin falls under the antibiotics referred to as Lactam. It possesses a beta lactam ring that is used in inactivating bacterial cell enzymes that are essential for synthesizing peptidoglycan which is a bacteria’s main polymer wall. By doing this, cross linking of peptide chains in the peptidoglycan is prevented (Lehne, Mooore, & Hamilton, 2013).

Although it does not affect the bacteria cells that have already formed, it ensures that all cells created afterwards develop abnormally and are unable to maintain the preexisting rigidity in their walls. These new cells will therefore be more vulnerable to lyses. In addition to creating abnormal cells, Phenoxymethylpenicillin also reduces bacterial cell division. This affects replication and stops the spread of infection (Bullock & Manias, 2014).

Antibiotics are generally ineffective against viruses due to the structural make up of viruses. Viruses reside and replicate inside human cells. Due to this, they cannot thrive outside these cells because they typically inject their genes into the cells for them to replicate. This makes it impossible for antibiotics to be effective because they lack a specific target that they can attack because viruses reside in cells destroying the virus would also mean destroying the cells (Bullock & Manias, 2014).

Question 3

Influenza can be contracted through different means. He could have contracted it via droplet transmission where the influenza virus could have travelled through the air via droplet particles from an infected person. If an infected droplet particle came in to contact with Peter, he could have easily contracted influenza (Lee & Bishop, 2016).

Peter could have also contracted Influenza from Bio aerosol transmission. In this transmission, influenza travels through the air from an infected person. Peter could have inhaled the droplet nuclei which could have in turn infected him (Lee & Bishop, 2016).

Observing proper hygiene can contribute in breaking influenza transmission. Many people get the virus due to touching infected people or surfaces. Hands have been seen as the main modes of direct transmission. By cleaning their hands often, they can protect themselves from contractedinfluenza (Boland, Santall, & Video Education Australasia, 2011).

Further to this, Quarantining the host will also contribute in breaking transmission of influenza. If a person has influenza, he should stay away from school or work or any public places to avoid transmitting the virus to others. This will reduce the chances of someone contracting influenza via direct transmission (Boland, Santall, & Video Education Australasia, 2011).

Question 4

Sore throats occur due to infection in the throat’s mucus membranes. Once the throat is infected, the body responds with an influx of blood rich in white blood cells and other antibodies to the inflamed area. The major symptoms of a sore throat range from swollen glands to yellow white exudates appearance (Craft et al., 2014).

The reddening of Peter’s throat is an indication of his body’s attempt to fight the infection. This occurs because the body’s auto response for any infection is counter attacking. Once the body detects an infection, it immediately sends a large influx of blood circulation to the infected region as a way of attempting to fight it. This blood carries an increased load of both white cells and other antibodies. This causes the reddened appearance in the throat (Porth & Matfin, 2014).

Swollen glands appear because the body attempts to battle the infection. The body does this by sending a multitude of antibodies and other cells to counter the infection. Sometimes the body may send more antibodies that are required and this may result in swollen glands (Marieb & Hoenh, 2016).

Yellow white exudate that is evident in Peter's throat occurs because of the influenza infection. Normally, the infection will enter the human system via mouth and nose and consequently moves to the tonsils. Once the tonsils sense the infection, they release white blood cells which are called cytokines. These blood cells have a yellowing appearance hence leading to the yellowish exudates (Porth & Matfin, 2014).

Question 5

The replication process of viruses and bacteria differs greatly due to the presence of genetic blue print and presence or absence of tools of reproduction. For instance, bacteria reproduce themselves because they contain a genetic blueprint as well as ribosome and proteins that they use to perform binary fission (Tinoco & Gonzalez, 2011).

Viruses have limited genetic blue prints and lack tools for self-reproduction and they therefore mooch on other cells. Due to this, they can only reproduce if they invade other cells, inject their genetic components and use this cell’s machinery to replicate themselves (Reyes-Lamothe, Sherratt & Leake, 2010).

While viruses need to attach themselves to human cells for them to replicate, bacteria do not require any cells. A bacterium only needs to grow and split into two and keep growing. Using self-assembly, bacteria create numerous copies of themselves and these copies carry forth their genetic makeup. Viruses on the other hand use the cells they have invaded to propagate the multiplication of their cells (Reyes-Lamothe, Sherratt, & Leake, 2010).