B5.2 Pathogens and Disease (Finished) Flashcards
What are Pathogens?
Pathogens are microorganisms that cause infectious disease. Pathogens may be viruses, bacteria, protists or fungi.
How does Bacteria cause illness?
Bacteria may produce toxins that may affect your body and bacteria sometimes cause direct damage to cells
How do viruses cause illness?
Viruses cause disease by taking over cells of the body, living and replicating there. Eventually the cell bursts. The cell damage makes you feel ill
What are bacteria?
Single-called living organisms much smaller than animal and plant cells that can reproduce rapidly
What three ways can pathogens spread in?
Air, Direct contact and Water
What is one way pathogens can spread through air.
Being carried by droplets in the air
How big are viruses and bacteria?
Bacteria 1/100 size of body cell, virus 1/100 of bacteria
What do bacteria do in the body?
In the body, bacteria divide rapidly through binary fission. They produce harmful toxins that can damage cells and sometimes damage cells directly
What is a similarity between bacteria and viruses?
They both reproduce rapidly in your body
What do viruses do in the body?
They live inside cells and replicate themselves using the cell’s machinery to produce many copies of themselves. The cell will then burst releasing all the new viruses
How can pathogens spread by air?
Many pathogens are carried by droplets in the air. When you cough, sneeze or talk tiny droplets full of pathogens are expelled. If others breath in the droplets they get sick too
How do pathogens spread by direct contact?
Cuts, scrathes anything allowing access to the blood helps them spread. Some animals eg mosquitos act as vectors transferring the disease
How can pathogens spread by water?
Some pathogens can be picked up by drinking ir bathing in dirty water, by entering the digestive system or into cuts etc.
