Types of Pathogens
Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax can be found naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world.
Gram-negative bacteria usually have a cell wall composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan, covered by a membrane. There are over 2,300 subtypes of the Salmonella enterica bacterium, including serovars enterititis, Salmonella Agbeni, and typhimurium.
Botulism is a rare but potentially life-threatening bacterial illness. Clostridium Botulinum bacteria grows on food and produces toxins that, when ingested, cause paralysis. Botulism poisoning is extremely rare, but so dangerous that each case is considered a public health emergency.
Francisella tularensis; Francisella tularensis bacteria (blue) infecting a macrophage (yellow) ... Francisella tularensis is a pathogenic species of Gram-negative, ...
Fungi, singular, fungus, is a group of eukaryotic, non-phototrophic organisms with rigid cell walls, that includes mushrooms, molds and yeasts. This definition has some words in it that probably need definitions of their own.
How Pathogens Cause Disease. ... only causes disease in humans. ... whereas opportunistic pathogens can only cause disease when the individual is compromised by a ...
Protozoa are microscopic, one-celled organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature. They are able to multiply in humans, which contributes to their survival and also permits serious infections to develop from just a single organism.
A virus is a small infectious agent that can only replicate inside cells of another organisms. Unlike other pathogens, viruses require a host cell to replicate and spread to other adjacent cells as they do not possess the ability to reproduce on their own.
Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria. It can be a life threatening infection if not treated promptly. Plague has caused several major epidemics in Europe and Asia over the last 2,000 years. Plague has most famously been called "the Black Death" because it can cause skin sores that form black scabs.