1.4 - Pathogens and disease

Question 1

What are infectious diseases caused by?

Answer 1

Pathogens

Question 2

What are pathogens?

Answer 2

Tiny microorganisms (usually bacteria or viruses)

Question 3

How do pathogens make you feel ill? (2 ways)

Answer 3

1) Once they enter the body, they reproduce rapidly and produce toxins (poisons) that make you feel ill
2) Viruses cause damage to cells by reproducing inside them, which can also make you feel ill

Question 4

Why did it take a long time for others to accept the ideas of Semmelweiss?

Answer 4

Bacteria and viruses had not been discovered

Question 5

Who was Semmelweiss and what did he work out?

Answer 5

He was a doctor who discovered that infection could be spread from person to person in a hospital

Question 6

What did Semmelweiss tell doctors to do and what did they think of him?

Answer 6

He told them to wash their hands, but they did not take him seriously