Terminologies Flashcards
Pathogen
Disease causing microorganisms are called
pathogens.
Infection
It is the process in which the microorganisms
multiply and grow in or on the host.
Frank pathogen
A frank pathogen is a microorganism capable of
producing disease in either normal healthy or
immunocompromised persons.
Opportunistic pathogen
These are usually capable of causing infections
only in immunocompromised individuals that
are: ▪ Burn patients,
▪ Patients taking antibiotics,
▪ Those with impaired immune systems,
▪ Elderly patients with diabetes, etc.
Examples are,
– Pseudomonas aeruginosa and
– Mycobacterium avium, etc
Incubation time
The time between infection and the appearance of clinical signs and symptoms such as diarrhea, fever or rash, is the incubation time.
Enteric pathogen
Microorganisms transmitted by the fecal-oral
route are referred to as enteric pathogens.
Water borne disease
These are the pathogens that originate in fecal
and are transmitted through the ingestion of
contaminated water that serves as the passive
carrier of the infectious agent.
Examples: Cholera, typhoid fever.
Water washed disease
These are the diseases caused by the organisms
that originate in feces and are transmitted
through contact because of inadequate sanitation
or hygiene. Example: Trachoma (bacterial infection that affects your eyes)
Water based disease
These are the diseases caused by the pathogens
that either spend all (or essential parts) of their
lives in water or depend on aquatic organisms
for the completion of their life cycles and come
in direct contact with humans in water or by
inhalation. Example: Legionellosis
Water related disease
These are the diseases caused by the
microorganisms with life cycles associated with
insects that live or breed in water. Example: Yellow fever.
Parasitology
Parasitology is the biological science of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them.
Parasite
A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it.
Parasite
A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it.
Disinfection
Disinfection is the act of disinfecting, using specialized cleansing techniques that destroy
or prevent growth of pathogenic organisms.
Sterilization
It is a process, physical or chemical, that destroys or eliminates all organisms including transmissible agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, spore forms, etc.) present on a surface, contained in a fluid, in medication, or in a compound such as biological culture media.
Sanitizer
It is an agent that reduces the number of bacterial contaminants to safe levels as judged by
public health requirements.
Disinfectant
It is a physical or chemical agent that destroys disease-causing or other harmful microorganisms
but does not necessarily kills all microorganisms.
Examples are Aldehydes, Metal ions, Dyes, Oxidizing agents etc.
Bacteriostat
A bacteriostat is usually a chemical agent that prevents the growth of bacteria but does not
necessarily kills them.
Thermal destruction
High temperature destruction of waste by
burning with subsequent reduction to ashes
or conversion to an inert mass.
Thermal death time
The time necessary to kill a given number of
organisms at a specific temperature.
Biogeochemical cycle
The flow of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms and the physical environment.
Acid mine drainage
During mining of ore deposits and of bituminous
coal, pyrite exposure to oxygen and moisture,
becomes a source of an acidic iron-rich leachate
called acid mine drainage.
Biodegradation
Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic contaminants through microorganisms.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is a treatment technology
designed to convert toxic into non-toxic through
biological activity.
Assimilation
Degrading process in which MOs use the
target compound as a food source and get multiplicated is said to be assimilation.
Mineralization
Degradation process in which MOs don’t get
energy from oxidation of contaminant and the C is
released as CO2.
Extracellular enzyme
Released from microbial body. Important for degradation of macromolecules.
Intracellular enzyme
Present within the gut of microbial cell.
Intracellular enzyme
Present within the gut of microbial cell.
Intracellular enzyme
Present within the gut of microbial cell.
Intracellular enzyme
Present within the gut of microbial cell.
Constitutive enzyme
Normally present in the body of microbes.
Induced enzyme
Induced by the microbes in response to any
xenobiotic compound.
Complete biodegradation
Complete biodegradation is the conversion of parent compound into CO2 and water.
Co-metabolism
Co-metabolism is the process in which partial oxidation of the substrate occurs, but the energy derived from the oxidation is not used to support microbial growth.
Bioventing
Bioventing is a process of stimulating the natural in situ biodegradation of contaminants in soil by
providing air or oxygen to existing soil microorganisms.
Biostimulation
Biostimulation involves the modification of the environment to stimulate existing bacteria capable of biodegradation.
Biosurfactant
Synthetic or Microbe induced chemicals used to
remove oil residues is biosurfactant.
Bioaugmentation
Bioaugmentation is the addition of specific strains
of organisms to degrade the contaminants.
Metals
Chemical elements that form lustrous solids that are good conductor of heat and electricity and forms cations and ionic bonds with non-metals.
Heavy metals
Metal having specific gravity greater than 5 g/mL.
Essential metals
The essential metals with known biological functions e.g. Na, Mg, Ca, K, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Mo. These are required for enzyme catalysis, molecule transport, protein structure, charge neutralization and control of osmotic pressure.
Toxic metals
The toxic metals e.g. Ag, Cd, Hg, As etc. They affect the normal binding sites on biological molecules,
inhibition of enzymatic functioning and disruption of nucleic acid structure.
Bioavailable metals
Soluble, non sorbed, and mobile.
Non bioavailable metals
Precipitated, complexed, sorbed
and non-mobile.
Metal efflux
It is plasmid encoded energy dependent system to remove metals from cells.
Methylation
It is the addition of methyl or ethyl groups for example, arsenic(III) to As(CH3)3, increases metal volatile ability.
Risk assessment
The process of eliminating both the probability that an event will occur and the probable magnitude of its adverse effects (economic, health
safety related, or ecological) over a specified time period.
Hazard identification
Defining the hazard and nature of the harm. e.g. identifying a contaminant (e.g. a chemical, such
as Pb or CCl4 or a microbial pathogen, and documenting its toxic effects on humans.
Exposure assessment
Determining the concentration of a contaminating agent in the environment and estimating its rate
of intake. For example, determining the concentration of Salmonella in a meat product and determining the average dose that a person would ingest.
Dose response assessment
Quantifying the adverse effects arising from exposure to a hazardous agent based on the degree of exposure. This assessment is usually
expressed mathematically as a plot showing the response in living organisms to increasing doses of the agents.
Risk characterization
Estimating the potential impact, like human illness or death, of a microorganism or chemical based on the severity of its effects and the amount of its exposure. Uncertainty analysis. Risk projection and management.
Risk projection and management
In this phase, exposure and dose response assessments are integrated to yield probabilities of effects occurring in humans under specific exposure conditions.
Risk management
It includes consideration of social, political, and economic issues as well as the engineering problems inherent in proposed solution.
Risk communication
It is the interactive process of information and opinion exchange among individuals, groups and institutions.
