Terms and defintions
What is the term for a disease-causing microorganism?
pathogen
What type of microorganism is yeast?
Fungi
Give one example of a disease caused by a virus.
Examples: influenza, COVID-19, measles, chickenpox
What is transmission through contaminated food or water called?
Food/water-borne transmission
What is the body's first line of defence against pathogens?
Physical/chemical/microbial barriers such as skin, mucus or microbiota
What is the spread of pathogens from one person to another called?
Transmission
Which type of microbe includes bacteria such as E. coli?
Bacteria
Is a virus generally considered a living cell? Explain briefly.
No. Viruses are acellular and depend on host cells to reproduce.
Give two ways infectious diseases can be transmitted.
Any two: droplets, contact, food/water, vectors, blood/body fluids
Which blood cells help fight pathogens?
WBCs
A protein produced by white blood cells (specifically B lymphocytes) that is complementary in shape to a specific antigen on a pathogen.
Antibody
What type of microorganism causes influenza?
Virus
Diabetes type 1
non-infectious
A student has a cold and coughs near another student. Name the likely transmission route.
Respiratory droplets/aerosols
What protein can antibodies recognise on a pathogen?
An antigen
The protection against a disease that occurs when a high enough proportion of a population is immune to a pathogen (through vaccination or prior infection) that it becomes difficult for the disease to spread.
Herd immunity
Which type of microbe is used to make bread rise?
Yeast/Fungus
Athlete's foot
Infectious
Why is handwashing useful for reducing the spread of disease?
It removes/reduces pathogens from the hands.
How does vaccination help protect against disease?
It trains the immune system to recognise a pathogen/antigen
A bacterium becomes resistant to an antibiotic. What is this called?
Antibiotic resistance
Name the group of microorganisms that includes amoeba.
Protists
Explain the difference between an infectious disease and a non-infectious disease, giving one example of each.
An infectious disease is caused by a pathogen (such as a bacterium, virus or fungus) and can be spread from one person to another — for example, influenza.
A non-infectious disease is not caused by a pathogen and cannot be spread between people; instead, it results from factors such as genetics, lifestyle or environment — for example, type 2 diabetes.
Name 2 ways to stop the spread of a contagious disease.
Any 2:
Quarantine and Isolation
No group gatherings
Personal hygiene
regular and deep cleaning of shared spaces
Vaccination
Why don't antibiotics work against viruses?
Antibiotics target bacterial processes, not viruses