2 Key words from the unit Complete the sentences with the words from the list.
1 The common cold is not caused by .
2 VRSA means Vancomycin .
3 can spread by hand.
4 agents kill micro-organisms.
5 A virus is a type of .
6 A house is actually too clean.
7 The young and old are to illness.
8 The needs disinfecting.
Reading and vocabulary
A When the microscope was invented it became possible for scientists to see microscopic
organisms. For the first time they were able to confirm that it was pathogens and not smelly gases
that caused illness. They developed the Germ Theory of disease.
B Germ Theory changed attitudes to hygiene. It has made towns very different from the dirty places
they were before. In hospitals, Florence Nightingale applied Germ Theory to nursing practices and
made new hygiene rules. She showed that clean sewers, ventilation and disinfected wards were
equally as important as the treatment of patients.
C Once they knew that germs existed, scientists could work on ways to kill them. Germ Theory led to
medicines which were called antibiotics. One of the first antibiotics was penicillin. Methicillin is a
modern development of penicillin
D Although antibiotics kill bacteria, they don’t kill all bacteria. Some bacteria are drug-resistant.
They can survive the antibiotics and they also produce more bacteria that are also resistant.
E One problem is that antibiotics are used too much. Firstly, they have been used to treat viral
illnesses, even though antibiotics do not kill viruses. They are also used in farming and we take a
lot of antibiotics into our bodies through our food.
F One bacterium that can resist methicillin is MRSA, otherwise known as Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus. When MRSA is present in a hospital full of sick people with weak immune
systems it can cause deaths.
bin
resistant
bacteria
spotless
susceptible
infection
pathogen
antimicrobial
Oxford English for Careers Nursing 1 Practice File © Oxford University Press 2011
32 Unit 11
3 Comprehension
Match the following topics 1–6 with the correct paragraph A–F.
1 The history of antibiotics.
2 The misuse of antibiotics.
3 The problem with antibiotics.
4 A drug-resistant bacterium.
5 The true cause of illness.
6 A theory that changed lives.
4 Vocabulary
Write ‘P’ next to the things that prevent the spread of bacteria and ‘H’ next
to the things that help bacteria spread. The first one is done for you.
1 A n t i b i o t i c r e s i s t a n c e . H
2 Spillage of bodily fluids.
3 An anti-microbial agent.
4 A disinfected ward.
5 Contaminated dressings.
6 The immune system.
7 Susceptibility to infection.
5 Further vocabulary practice
Match the beginnings of the sentences 1–7 with the ends.
The first one is done for a–g.
1 The waste disposal bag a must be kept full.
2 Fill a bucket b of disposable gloves.
3 You must use a mop to c need to be replaced.
4 The paper towels are gone and d needs emptying.
5 You need two pairs e clean up any spillage.
6 The liquid soap dispenser f detergent for the floor.
7 We need a strong g with clean hot water.

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