Infectious diseases

This course is a part of Health and medicine, a 22-course Topic series from Khan Academy.

There's an intricate dance between humans, viruses, bacteria, molds, and even tiny worms! They want to survive and replicate just like humans do... and this is why they cause infections. From the flu to HIV, we’ll explore the underlying mechanisms that these creepy crawlies use to reproduce and spread.

This course contains 7 segments:

Tuberculosis

Almost one third of the entire world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the type of bacteria that causes TB. Although only a fraction of these people will actually become sick with the disease, in 2012, the World Health Organization reported 1.3 million TB related deaths. The good news is that health care workers and public health officials around the world have done a great job of helping to detect and treat the disease early. The bad news is that TB is developing drug resistance. Learn more about this ancient disease, that still plagues us in the modern-day.

Pertussis

Influenza

Most people have had the flu virus at least once in their lives, and it’s usually not a pleasant experience… Fight back with some good information! Learn about typical flu symptoms (and how tell it apart from the cold), and how the flu virus invades your cells to cause disease. Finally, learn how flu vaccines may help prevent you from getting sick, and how we can test and treat the flu just in case you get really ill. Stay healthy, my friends!

Polio

Sexually transmitted diseases

HIV and AIDS

Malaria