Pathogens and Their Effects on Health

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What is a pathogen?

Pathogens are defined as microscopic organisms, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can cause diseases in humans, animals, and plants. These invisible agents can cause a wide range of infections, from mild illnesses like the common cold to severe and potentially life-threatening diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, and HIV.

What is a common pathogen?

There are also: Fungi. This is the cause of infections like athlete's foot and ringworm. Protozoa. Large single-celled organisms that cause malaria and sleeping sickness. Parasites. Lice and tapeworms are examples of common parasitic infections. How Do Pathogens Work? Facultative pathogens.

Where does the word pathogen come from?

Image Credit: BBC. The word pathogen is derived from two Greek words: first one being an ancient Greek word “ pathos ” meaning ‘ disease ’ and the second French word “gene” meaning ‘ producer or agent of something ’. The second word is further derived from an older Greek word “genes”.

What are pathogens?

Pathogens are what most people call germs—tiny organisms that cause diseases. There are different types of pathogens found all over the world. Depending on the type of germ and your body, you can get a minor illness or a deadly disease when a pathogen enters.

Do pathogens cause disease?

Pathogens are different and can cause disease upon entering the body. All a pathogen needs to thrive and survive is a host. Once the pathogen sets itself up in a host’s body, it manages to avoid the body’s immune responses and uses the body’s resources to replicate before exiting and spreading to a new host.

What does a pathogen do?

They are essentially fragments of nucleic acid ( DNA or RNA) instructions, wrapped in a protective shell of proteins and (in some cases) membrane ( Figure 25-2A ). They use the basic transcription and translation machinery of their host cells for their replication. Pathogens in many forms.

What Is Pathogens

1. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/pathogens-definition
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pathogen
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5648414/
4. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-a-pathogen-1958836
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathogen
6. https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/pathogen
7. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-to-know-about-pathogens
8. https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Microbiology_(OpenStax)/15%3A_Microbial_Mechanisms_of_Pathogenicity/15.02%3A_How_Pathogens_Cause_Disease