the spread of diseases

• what is a communicable disease?

  a disease that can be transmitted from one organism to another
• what is a pathogen?

  a microorganism that causes disease
• name four types of pathogen

  1. bacteria
  2. fungi
  3. protists
  4. viruses
• how can pathogens spread?

  • air
  • water
  • direct contact
• how do bacteria make you ill?

  produce toxins that damage tissues
• how do viruses make you ill?

  reproduce rapidly inside cells, damaging or destroying them
• name three viral diseases

  1. measles
  2. HIV
  3. tobacco mosaic virus
• name two bacterial diseases

  1. salmonella
  2. gonorrhoea
• name one fungal disease

  rose black spot
• name an example of a protist disease

  malaria
• name three methods of controlling the spread of communicable diseases

  1. good hygiene
  2. isolating infected individuals
  3. vaccination
• what does a vaccine contain?

  small quantities of a dead or inactive form of the disease
• how does vaccination protect against a specific pathogen?

  vaccination stimulates the body to produce antibodies against a specific pathogen (disease)
• what is herd immunity?

  when most of a population is vaccinated against a disease, meaning it is less likely to spread