Teacher Guide: Disease Spread

Learning Objectives
Students will …
 Analyze the factors that contribute to the spread of a person-to-person disease.
 Discuss how the spread of a person-to-person disease can be slowed.
 Identify how a person becomes infected with a foodborne disease.
 Compare the spread of a person-to-person disease with the spread of a foodborne and
an airborne disease.

Vocabulary
disease, epidemic, infect, infectious disease, pathogen

Lesson Overview
Bacteria, viruses, parasitic worms, and other pathogens
can all invade the body and cause disease. But pathogens
don’t stop there. In order to be successful, pathogens must
be able to move from one host to another.

Using the Disease Spread Gizmo™, students can observe

three different modes of pathogen transmission: person-to-
person contact, food contamination, and air contamination.
Students can determine how the population density and
probability of transmission affect the spread of a disease.

The Student Exploration sheet contains two activities:

 Activity A – Students explore the factors that affect how quickly a disease transmitted by
person-to-person contact spreads through a population.
 Activity B – Students analyze how foodborne and airborne diseases spread.

Suggested Lesson Sequence

1. Pre-Gizmo activity: Simulating disease transmission ( 15 – 25 minutes)

Before class starts, place Glo Germ™ oil or a fluorescein solution on a doorknob, eraser,
pen, or other object in the classroom that several students are likely to touch. The
fluorescent material represents a pathogen.

Have students for the next 15 minutes do an activity that requires them to interact with
their classmates. For example, you could ask a few students to pass out handouts to
rest of the class or offer specimens that students can examine in groups. After 15
minutes have passed, explain to students the real purpose of the activity. Turn off the
lights and use an ultraviolet lamp to track where the “pathogens” spread. Have students
that “contracted the disease” try to determine what object or person they touched that
led to the transfer of the fluorescent powder to their hands.

See the Selected Web Resources for other ways to simulate disease transmission.
2. Prior to using the Gizmo ( 10 – 15 minutes)
Before students are at the computers, pass out the Student Exploration sheets and ask
students to complete the Prior Knowledge Questions. Discuss student answers as a
class, but do not provide correct answers at this point. Afterwards, if possible, use a
projector to introduce the Gizmo and demonstrate its basic operations. Demonstrate how
to take a screenshot and paste the image into a blank document.

3. Gizmo activities ( 15 – 20 minutes per activity)

Assign students to computers. Students can work individually or in small groups. Ask
students to work through the activities in the Student Exploration using the Gizmo.
Alternatively, you can use a projector and do the Exploration as a teacher-led activity.

4. Discussion questions ( 15 – 30 minutes)

As students are working or just after they are done, discuss the following questions:
 How might scientists investigating the spread of a disease be able to determine
whether the disease was foodborne, airborne, or spread through person-to-
person contact?
 Do you think a disease transmitted by person-to-person contact would spread
faster in an urban or a rural environment? What about a foodborne disease?
 Why do you think sneezing and coughing could increase the probability of
transmission for a disease?

5. Follow-up activities ( variable)

Tell students that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of disease is to wash your
hands frequently. Obtain several Petri dishes containing nutrient agar. Run a cotton
swab over an object frequently touched, such as a doorknob. Then, wipe the swab
across the agar in a Petri dish. Tightly seal the dish, and label it with the name of the
surface you swabbed. Repeat this procedure with other surfaces such as a keyboard, a
cell phone, unwashed hands, and thoroughly washed hands.

Place the Petri dishes in a warm, dark place for about a week. (Use an incubator if one
is available. Set the temperature to 37 °C, the approximate temperature of the human
body.) Have students observe the growth in the various Petri dishes. Ask students which
Petri dishes have the most bacterial growth and which have the least. (CAUTION: Do
not open the Petri dishes once they have been sealed. Dispose of them as you would
any other biohazard.)

In addition to the Petri dish activity, you also may Reported cases of
want to have students research and analyze the Year Staphylococcus
spread of a real-world pathogen. The CDC reports infections
the incidences of most major infectious diseases 1993 1,900
(see the Selected Web Resources). Alternatively,
you could present with the data at right showing the 1995 38,100
incidence of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus 1997 69,800
infections in hospitals across the United States. 1999 108,600
Staph infections are spread in hospitals through
2001 175,000
shared equipment and person-to-person contact.
Have students describe the trend in the data and 2003 248,300
discuss the likely reasons behind the trend. 2005 368,600
Scientific Background
Infectious diseases are caused by agents known as pathogens. Examples of pathogens include
bacteria, viruses, prions, protists, fungi, and parasitic worms. Most pathogens are microscopic,
which is advantageous to the pathogen because it is easier for the pathogen to be transmitted
to its host undetected. Pathogens can be spread in several ways. Direct person-to-person
contact is perhaps the most common method of transmission. A pathogen can be transmitted
from one person to another when they shake hands, kiss, or share personal objects such as
eating utensils. Pathogens also may be transmitted by contaminated objects, such as
doorknobs or keyboards that are coated with the pathogen. Many pathogens also are
transmitted from person to person in body fluids during sexual contact or medical procedures
such as blood transfusions.

In addition to transmission by direct contact, some pathogens can be transmitted through the
air. Airborne pathogens typically are transmitted when an infected host coughs or sneezes.
Sneezing can force thousands of pathogen-laden droplets into the air at speeds up to
160 km/h! Also, pathogens can be transmitted when people inhale dust, fungal spores, or other
airborne materials. This is the airborne pathogen scenario explored in the Gizmo.

Some pathogens are not transmitted person-to-person or through the air, but instead through
animals known as vectors. Vectors carry the pathogen, but generally do not get sick from it. For
example, mosquitoes carry West Nile virus and the protist that causes malaria. The mosquito is
not affected by either of these pathogens, but it can transmit the pathogen when it bites a
human. The final major mode of pathogen transmission is through contaminated food and
water. For example, a cholera outbreak occurs when fecal matter carrying Vibrio cholerae
bacteria contaminates a community’s water supply.

History Connection: Legionnaires’ disease

In July, 1976, members of the American Legion gathered in Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford
Hotel to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial. During the ceremonies, no one could foresee the
nightmare that lay ahead. But over the next few days, over 200 Legionnaires were stricken by
intense, pneumonia-like symptoms. By the end of the crisis, 34 people had died. The outbreak
mystified scientists and spread concern across the nation. Eventually, the cause of the disease
was identified. It was a previously unknown bacteria that was subsequently named Legionella in
honor of the fallen Legionnaires. Although the exact source of the bacteria never was confirmed,
most theories point to pools of stagnant water in the hotel’s air-conditioning system. The
bacteria may have become airborne and been carried through ducts to the hotel’s banquet hall.

Selected Web Resources

Disease transmission lab: http://www2.nau.edu/lrm22/lessons/disease/disease_lab.html,
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/sixth-grade-science-lesson
Disease transmission: http://www.healthline.com/health/disease-transmission,
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/microbiology/chapter/modes-of-disease-transmission/
Infectious diseases: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infectious-diseases/DS01145
Diseases and their pathogens: http://www.mwra.com/germs/germ10.htm,
CDC data and statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/DataStatistics/

Related Gizmos:
Virus Lytic Cycle: http://www.explorelearning.com/gizmo/id?448
Drug Dosage: http://www.explorelearning.com/gizmo/id?525