SWR Tatort Mensch

Episode 2: Tricky Germs - Infectious Diseases

Timecode list

Content

Timecode 00:25 - 05:34

The Ebola virus

When in 1995 the Ebola virus appeared yet again in West Africa and took on the proportions of an epidemic, the world was shocked. There is no effective vaccine for Ebola, which attacks the inner organs and causes severe haemorrhaging. The disease is almost always fatal.

Timecode 05:34 - 08:31

Introduced pathogens

When there is reason to suspect that dangerous pathogens have been introduced into the country, the staff at the tropical medicine centres work to ensure the identification of the pathogen and to treat the patient properly.

Timecode 08:32 - 10:51

The immune defence against viruses

Viruses attack cells in order to reproduce. The immune system's strategy is to destroy these infected cells in order to stop the reproduction of the viruses. Killer cells trigger the death of the cells infected by the virus.

Start animated film
(Length: 2:17 min)

Timecode 10:52 - 15:12

The risk of travelling abroad

Tourists travelling to foreign countries may come into contact with pathogens for which the immune system is not prepared. Examples: the one-cell Leishmania or the yellow fever virus. Both are transmitted by insect bites. There is an effective vaccine for yellow fever.

Timecode 15:12 - 17:54

Vaccines and their production

Louis Pasteur conducted animal experiments to find out how pathogens could be grown, deactivated and turned into vaccines. Pasteur also worked out the fundamentals for a vaccine for rabies. There are some areas in which rabies remains a problem even today.

Timecode 17:54 - 21:48

Influenza - the flu virus

Influenza viruses are easily transmitted by droplets. Consequently, the virus can spread rapidly, and epidemics occur frequently. Since influenza viruses modify their shells from time to time, the corresponding vaccine must be prepared in advance each time.

Start animated film
(Length: 1:11 min)

Timecode 21:48 - 27:15

Millions of people suffer from malaria, especially in the tropical countries where the anopheles mosquito is found. The development of a vaccine is difficult because the malaria pathogen often changes its outer shape. The immune system is usually unable to react in time to overcome this clever camouflage activity.

Content

The programme describes common infectious diseases which are caused by viruses, bacteria and one-cell organisms. It focuses on tropical diseases which are becoming more and more significant in our age of travel to exotic destinations. More and more pathogens are being carried in from abroad. The documentary shows how patients are treated in tropical medicine institutes and what measures can be taken to prevent effectively the spread of infectious pathogens.

Pathogens make use of various strategies in order to settle into the human body. Several of these strategies are described in greater detail.

An animated film shows how viruses, which also trigger a series of tropical diseases, penetrate cells and reproduce there, and how the immune defences react to the unwelcome intruders.

There are vaccines which can be used to protect people from some virus diseases, such as yellow fever. The process of producing the vaccine is shown. The procedure goes back to Louis Pasteur, who created the first vaccine for rabies.

One virus disease is the subject of headlines almost every year: the flu (influenza). There have been several large-scale epidemics in Germany, claiming thousands of lives. So a substantial part of the programme has to do with the flu.

Malaria, transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes, is one of the major tropical diseases. The malaria pathogen has a life cycle during which it changes form a number of times. This strategy helps it to undermine the recognition and defence mechanisms of the immune system. An effective vaccine for malaria has not yet been developed. But taking chemopharmaceutical products can prevent the disease from breaking out.