Pathogens

• Pathogen


  Microorganisms that cause infectious disease
• Types of pathogens


  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Protists
  • Fungi
• Bacteria


  • Reproduce very rapidly under ideal conditions
  • Can divide every 20 minutes
  • Release harmful chemicals called toxins that damage tissues and make us feel ill
• Viruses


  • Cannot be produced by themselves
  • Can only reproduce inside a host cell
  • Invade host cell, reproduce inside, then cause the cell to burst open and die
• Ways pathogens are spread

  • Airborne (e.g. influenza)
  • Waterborne (e.g. cholera)
  • Direct contact (e.g. HIV)
• Reducing the spread of pathogens

  1. Practicing basic hygiene (e.g. handwashing)

  2. Providing clean drinking water

  3. Reducing direct contact (e.g. using condoms)

  4. Isolating highly infectious patients

  5. Vaccination
• Around 300,000 people in the UK get food poisoning from a type of bacteria every year
• Many bacterial diseases can kill us
• Viruses are very damaging to host cells, causing them to burst open and die
• Drinking water in the UK contains chlorine which kills microbes