Pathogens & Disease
What is a pathogen?
An organism or agent that causes disease.
Name one mode of disease transmission.
Direct contact, indirect contact, airborne, food, water or vector.
What is the body's first line of defence?
Skin and body barriers such as mucus, tears and hairs.
What is a pandemic?
A disease outbreak that spreads across many countries or continents.
What is the simplest hygiene practice that helps reduce disease spread?
Washing hands.
Besides food, what is another important use of native plants?
Traditional medicine.
Name the four main types of pathogens.
Bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists (protozoa).
What is the difference between direct and indirect transmission?
Direct requires person-to-person contact; indirect does not.
Why don't antibiotics work against viruses?
Viruses are not living cells and antibiotics only target bacteria.
Which type of outbreak remains at a consistent level in one region?
Endemic.
Which strategy is especially important for mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria?
Reducing contact with vectors (mosquito control).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples used plants to prevent or control what?
Disease and illness.
Which pathogen causes malaria?
A protist (protozoan).
Why is measles usually considered airborne rather than direct transmission?
Virus particles remain suspended in the air after an infected person leaves.
What do antibodies do?
They attach to specific pathogens, helping destroy them.
Give one example each of an endemic, epidemic and pandemic.
Endemic: Q fever or malaria; Epidemic: Ross River virus or Ebola; Pandemic: COVID-19 or Spanish Flu.
Explain why quarantine works.
It separates infected people to reduce transmission to others.
Why were different plants prepared in different ways?
Different plants required different preparation methods to release or apply their medicinal properties safely.
Explain why viruses must infect living cells to reproduce.
They cannot reproduce on their own and use the host cell's machinery.
A student catches food poisoning from undercooked chicken. What type of transmission is this?
Indirect transmission through contaminated food.
Why does a vaccinated person usually respond faster to infection?
Memory cells recognise the pathogen and produce antibodies quickly.
Why is COVID-19 classified as a pandemic rather than an epidemic?
It spread across multiple continents and affected millions worldwide.
Why would antibiotics not be recommended to treat influenza?
Influenza is caused by a virus, not bacteria.
Give two pieces of information you would include when researching a medicinal plant.
Examples: plant name, preparation method, disease treated, or other traditional uses.
A new disease spreads through contaminated water and is caused by a single-celled organism with a nucleus. What type of pathogen is most likely responsible?
A protist (protozoan).
A disease spreads only by mosquitoes. Which prevention strategy would have the greatest impact and why?
Mosquito control because removing the vector breaks transmission.
Explain why vaccines protect people even though they may not completely stop infection.
They prepare the immune system, reducing illness severity and allowing a faster immune response.
Scientists report a disease has been present for decades at low levels in northern Australia but cases suddenly triple after flooding. How would you classify the situation?
An epidemic of an endemic disease.
Evaluate which would be more effective against a rapidly spreading airborne virus: contact tracing, vaccination or handwashing.
Vaccination is generally the most effective long-term strategy because it builds immunity across the population; contact tracing and handwashing also help but have greater limitations once widespread transmission occurs.
Why is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ecological knowledge valuable to modern science?
It is based on thousands of years of observation and has contributed to understanding medicinal plants and sustainable resource use.