Answer key:
1. Give one example of an ancient purpose of piercing.
Egyptian pharaohs pierced their navels for pure ceremony
2. What is hepatitis C and Hepatitis B? Use media resources (i.e. books,
internet, etc) to answer this question.
Conditions that affect the liver caused by virus hep C and hep B. Could
lead to cancer later in life
- Hep B virus: most prevalent strain in the world; spread thru unsafe
sex practice and exchange of body fluid; preventable with a vaccine
- Hepatitis C: spread thru body piercing, tattooing, needles after drug
use.
In Canada, it is estimated that between 210,000 and 275,000 people
are currently infected with hepatitis C, of whom only 30 per cent know
they have the virus. At present there is no vaccine against HCV.
Up to 90 per cent of infected persons carry HCV indefinitely. Over the
long term, they are at risk of such illnesses as profound fatigue,
cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
To prevent HCV, don't share needles or syringes, and use condoms
during sexual intercourse.
3. Contaminated needles are a hot bed for Hepatitis C and HIV. Explain
why.
HIV can survive in the needles for 15 days at normal temp. and if
picked up and used by another person, HIV can be transmitted
Hep C can survive in dried speck of blood in needles for 3 months (!)
and get passed on that way. Non-sterile piercing equipments can also
be a transmitting ground for this incurable virus.
4. Explain the importance of jewelry being made out of stainless steel
or gold.
Jewelry made of other metal such as nickel can cause allergic reaction
and accompanied infections caused by bacteria. This in turn will trigger
the immune system unnecessarily
5. How is a tattoo done properly?
Tattoo gun needs to be sterilized (by steam or dry heat) and proper
wound care
6. How are tattooing and hepatitis B connected?
Use of poorly sterilized needles and use of saliva and urine for cleaning
wound allows Hep B to spread; not to mention the fact that tattoo
shops and brothels are often located on the same streets offering ideal
ground for spreading Hep B infection among people, often unbeknown
to them.
7. What bacteria are responsible for depiercing infections?
Staphlyococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
8. What are your opinions on piercing and tattooing? What are your
experiences?
Metal allergy: painful & uncomfortable. Not interested in piercing or
tattooing but did get my ears pierced when I was little. It was done
with a gun which might not be sterilized and might have been used for
many other people. I did get vaccines against all hep.
Answers to Discussion questions
1. Explain how mutation and horizontal gene transfer affect the genetic
variation in a bacterial population.
Random errors or mutations can change existing base
pairings of bacterial genes into new ones which enable
certain individuals of a bacterial population to be genetically
different from the rest of the population. This genetic novelty
is further magnified in the population as different individuals
of the bacterial population exchange their genetic material
through horizontal gene transfer.
2. What will inevitably happen when a population of bacterium is
consistently exposed a particular drug?
Random mutations can confer advantageous traits that help
the bacteria survive a treatment of antibiotic. The gene(s)
codes for such traits is then pass on to the bacteria’s
progeny. Since bacteria reproduce fast through binary
fission, soon enough the entire population will become
immune to the current antibiotic and more powerful drug will
be required for further treatment of such bacteria.
3. Why does bacterial horizontal gene transfer (HGT) represent such a
special danger to us?
HGT allows individuals of a bacterial population to exchange
its resistant genes within their lifetime. Thus, antibiotics
resistance can occur very fast before we can come up with
more powerful drugs. This can cost lives. HGT also allows
distantly related individuals to acquire genes that confer
resistance to multiple drugs.
* Vertical gene transfer: genes passed from parents to offsprings