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Biology + Microbiology > Pathogens > Flashcards

Pathogens Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a pathogen?

A

A bacterium, virus or other microorganism that can cause disease

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2
Q

What are the 6 things that makes a succesful pathogen?

A
  1. Maintain a reservoir
  2. Transmission to the new host
  3. Attch to host cells
  4. Invading the immune system
  5. Cause damage to the host
  6. Leaving and finding a new host
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3
Q

What does it mean to maintain a reservoir?

A

The infectious agent must primaritly depend on the reservoir for its survival and must be able to multiply there

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4
Q

Where is an infectious agent transmitted to from a reservoir?

A

To a human

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5
Q

Can the reservoir be biological or environmental?

A

Both

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6
Q

What does it mean for a reservoir to be biological?

A

Human - HIV, cold, virus
Animals - rabies, bird fluW

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7
Q

hat does it mean for a reservoir to be enviromental?

A

Water or soil - anthrax or cholera

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8
Q

What does transmission to a new host mean?

A

The infectious agent is spread from a reservoir to a human being

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9
Q

What is direct transmission?

A

Infected host contacts a new host and passes the pathogen to then directly

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10
Q

What is vertical direct transmission?

A

Mother to baby - HIV, rubella, syphilis

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11
Q

What is horizontal transmission?

A

Amongst the population
Sexual - Hiv, HPV, herpes, chlamydia
Fluid exchange - kissing, meningitis
Bites - rabies virus

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12
Q

Does the infected need to be present for the pathogen to be passed to the new host?

A

No

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13
Q

What are the three indirect transmissions?

A

Vehicel borne transmission
Vector bourne transmission
Airborne transmission

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14
Q

What is vehicle borne transmission?

A

A material becomes contaminated with the infectious agent

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15
Q

How do vehicle borne transmissions spread?

A

The vehicle contacts a persons body and is ingested either eaten or drunk, touches the skin or introduced during surgery

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16
Q

What is vector borne transmission?

A

Transmission from insects or creature that carry infectious disease

17
Q

How are vector borne transmissions spread?

A

The infectious agent is transmitted from the vector when it bites or touches a person

18
Q

What is an airborne transmission?

A

Infective agents are spread as aerosols
Usually enter a person through the respiratory tract

19
Q

What is an example of airbrne transmission?

A

Coughs
Sneezes, items when moved when cleaned or by the wind

20
Q

Is attaching to the host cell an imporants first step within the infection process?

A

Yes

21
Q

Why do infections have to attach to the host cell?

A

Because they will get cleared away by cilia or th gut

22
Q

What are attachment proteins?

A

Surface molecules on apthogens that bind to host receptors

23
Q

What do antibiotics againts pathogens bind to?

A

Adhesisns and block the ability of pathogen to bind to host cells and stop the disease

24
Q

What happens when the host immune system wins when a pathogen is invading the immune system?

A

The pathogen is eliminated

25
Q

What happens when the pathogen wins when invading the host immune system?

A

The infection gets worse

26
Q

What are the ways that pathogens have evolved to overcome defences from the immune system?

A

Hide
Disguise
Immunosupression
Interfere with antibody system

27
Q

How do pathogens ‘hide’?

A

within cells - viruses

28
Q

How do pathogens ‘disguise’?

A

Thy coat themselves in host proteins which hides their own antigenic surface components from the immune system

29
Q

How do pathogens immunosurpress?

A

They weaken the immune system

30
Q

How do pathogens interfere with antibiotic activity?

A

IgA protease produced by bacteria, inactivate secretory IgA by cleaving the molecule

31
Q

How do pathogens cause damage to the host?

A

Pathogens produce enzymes to invade tissues to reach their site of infection

32
Q

Why do pathogens produce toxins?

A

To damage host tissues in many ways

33
Q

How do pathogens leave and find a new host?

A

Sneezing, Diarrhoea, Behavioural change, Agression. Biting, Vomiting

Biology + Microbiology (18 decks)

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