3.08 health and genetics

question 1 (essay worth 5 points)
explain how heredity and family medical history can play a role in an individual's personal health. include examples in your explanation.

question 2 (essay worth 5 points)
identify one type of pathogen or infectious agent. describe ways to prevent the spread of the
diseases this type of pathogen can cause and explain why these preventative measures are important.

Explanation: Question 1:

Heredity and family medical history can play an important role in an individual's personal health as members of a family pass traits from one generation to another through genes.  

Family health history is a useful tool for understanding health risks and preventing disease.

You inherit physical traits and properties such as the color of your hair and eyes, shape of your nose and ears, as well as your body type and size, to some degree heredity also determines your general level of health as those traits are passed along biologically from both parents to child too.

A family health history knowing genetic factors helps physicians care for patients identifying people with a higher-than-usual risk of having common disorders as such as asthma, diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease also conditions as high blood pressure, stroke.

The general rule for family health history is first, to focus on immediate family members who are related to you through blood. Start with your parents, siblings, and children. If they're still alive, grandparents are another great place to start.  

Question 2:

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the causative agent for AIDS. The most common type is known as HIV-1 and is the infectious agent that has led to the worldwide AIDS epidemic.

The human immunodeficiency virus is found within the blood and bodily fluids of infected humans of all ages. The period from infection to the primary seroconversion illness is usually 1 to 4 weeks.

In the United States and many other developed nations, intercourse is the most common way that HIV is passed from person to person. This is because it allows for the exchange of certain body fluids that have consistently been found to transmit HIV: blood, semen; condomless vaginal/frontal intercourse is the most common mode of HIV transmission worldwide.  

There is a high risk of transmitting HIV through blood. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), direct blood transfusion is the route of exposure that poses the highest risk of transmission.

There are 6 general and basic prevention techniques to lower your risk of becoming infected with HIV:

Use condoms the right way every time you have intercourse.

Choose intercourse with little to no risk. You could also use condoms or dental dams with to lower the risk even more. Your partner can take medicine to prevent HIV, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

To help prevent the spread of HIV:

Use a new condom every time.

Consider the drug Truvada.

Tell your partners if you have HIV.

Use a clean needle.

If you're pregnant, get medical care right away.

Consider male circumcision.

HIV is a preventable disease. Effective HIV prevention interventions have been proven to reduce HIV transmission. People who get tested for HIV and learn that they are infected can make significant behavior changes to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their sex or drug-using partners.