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Pathogen. In biology, a pathogen ( Greek: πάθος, pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής, -genēs "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. [ 1]
Germ theory of disease. Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera. The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or "germs" can cause disease. These small organisms, too small to be seen without ...
An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease, is an illness resulting from an infection. Infections can be caused by a wide range of pathogens, most prominently bacteria and viruses. [ 2] Hosts can fight infections using their immune systems.
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. [ 1 ] This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of these pathogenic species in humans is estimated to be fewer than a hundred. [ 2 ]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to concepts related to infectious diseases in humans. Infection – transmission, entry/invasion after evading/overcoming defense, establishment, and replication of disease-causing microscopic organisms (pathogens) inside a host organism, and the reaction of host tissues to ...
Human pathogen. A human pathogen is a pathogen ( microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus) that causes disease in humans . The human physiological defense against common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) is mainly the responsibility of the immune system with help by some of the body's normal microbiota.
Mycobacterium is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis ( M. tuberculosis) and leprosy ( M. leprae) in humans. The Greek prefix myco- means 'fungus', alluding to this genus' mold -like ...
Pathogen transmission. In medicine, public health, and biology, transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a particular individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previously infected. [ 1] The term strictly refers to the transmission of ...