Online notes - Types of Pathogens Topic of Class 12 Biology

There are several types of pathogens affecting both animals including human beings and plants

Bacterial

The vast majority of bacteria, which typically range between 1 and 5 micrometres in length, are harmless or beneficial to humans. However, a relatively small list of pathogenic bacteria can cause infectious diseases. One of the bacterial diseases with the highest disease burden is tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Pathogenic bacteria contribute to other globally significant diseases, such as pneumonia, which can be caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus and Pseudomonas, and foodborne illnesses, which can be caused by bacteria such as Shigella, Campylobacter, and Salmonella. Pathogenic bacteria also cause infections such as tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, syphilis, and leprosy.

Bacteria can often be killed by antibiotics, which are usually designed to destroy the cell wall. This expels the pathogen’s DNA, making it incapable of producing proteins and causing the bacteria to die. A class of bacteria without cell walls is mycoplasma (a cause of lung infections). A class of bacteria which must live within other cells (obligate intracellular parasitic) is chlamydia (genus), the world leader in causing sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Takshila Learning - Online Tutorials

Search This Blog