A disease is an illness or disorder of the body or mind that leads to poor health
Each disease is associated with a set of signs and symptoms
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens and are transmissible (can be spread between individuals within a population)
Infectious & non-infectious disease table
Common Pathogens & Their Diseases
Four infectious diseases of worldwide importance are: cholera, malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/ AIDS
Worldwide the number of people infected with these diseases remains very high and these diseases pose serious public health problems now and for the foreseeable future
To control a disease, it is very important to know what causes it (known as the causative agent or pathogen)