Viruses, Bacteria, and Diseases

Question: What is the scientific term for a disease that causes dizziness?

Answer: Vertigo is a dizziness or disorientation in which the sufferer feels as though he is falling. It results from problems with the body’s balancing system, part of which is in the inner ear.

Question: If a person has lockjaw, what disease is he or she suffering from?

Answer: An acute infectious disease of the central nervous system, tetanus, or lockjaw, is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani.

Question: Who developed a vaccine against poliomyelitis?

Answer: Dr. Jonas Salk tested his vaccine against poliomyelitis, then a very prevalent and dangerous disease, in 1954. The incidence of the disease has since fallen markedly.

Question: What is the name of a deadly mosquito-borne disease?

Answer: Malaria is a serious disease that is spread by mosquitoes. It is found in tropical areas of the world.

Question: Which of these is a kind of flu?

Answer: H1N1, also called the swine flu, is an influenza virus.

Question: What illness has no commonly used vaccine?

Answer: The common cold has many causes. The other diseases are much more specific, and vaccines have been developed to combat them.