Communicable Disease

• Microorganisms

  Bacteria, Viruses, Protists, Fungi
• Most microorganisms are not harmful a small group do called 'pathogens'
• Pathogens

  Microorganisms that can cause disease
• Pathogens cause communicable diseases
• communicable diseases spread from person to person so they are infectious
• Pathogens can spread through:

  • In the air as it contains tiny droplets from when we cough and sneeze
  • Contaminated food and water (cholera and salmonella)
  • Direct contact
• Stopping the spread of disease

  • Washing hands
  • Cleaning cookery items
  • Killing vectors (organisms that transport the pathogen)
  • Vaccination
  • Isolate and quarantine
• pathogens can infect both animals and plants
• Ways of spreading with examples

  1. Through the air - Diseases such as influenza and measles can spread via tiny droplets of saliva that we expel when we cough or sneeze.
  2. Contaminated water - Diseases such as cholera can spread through water sources contaminated by the diarrhoea of infected people. 
  3. Contaminated food - Diseases such as salmonella are spread by eating food which has been infected with salmonella, and then not cooked properly.
  4. Direct contact - Athlete's foot is spread by walking barefoot on surfaces contaminated with the fungi.