Pathogens
What are pathogens?
Microorganisms that cause disease.
What is the main function of the immune system?
To defend the body against disease-causing organisms.
What is an infectious disease?
A disease caused by pathogens and can be spread from person to person.
What is a vaccine?
A preparation that helps the immune system recognise and fight specific diseases.
What planet is known as the “Red Planet”?
Mars.
Name one type of pathogen.
Bacteria, virus, fungi, or parasite.
Which cells in the blood are responsible for fighting infection?
White blood cells.
Give an example of an infectious disease caused by a virus.
Influenza, COVID-19, common cold, measles.
How do vaccines protect people?
By stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies and memory cells without causing disease.
What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Au.
How does a virus differ from a bacterium?
Viruses are not living cells and need a host to reproduce; bacteria are single-celled living organisms.
What is an antibody?
A protein produced by the immune system that targets specific pathogens.
How can people reduce the spread of infectious diseases?
Handwashing, vaccination, covering coughs, isolating when sick.
Why are booster shots sometimes necessary?
To strengthen or renew immunity when it decreases over time.
Which gas do plants use for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide.
Which type of pathogen is responsible for causing athlete’s foot, and how does it spread?
Fungi cause athlete’s foot, and it spreads through direct contact or via contaminated surfaces like locker room floors.
What is the role of memory cells in the immune system?
They "remember" past infections, making the body react faster if the pathogen returns.
Why are antibiotics not effective against viral infections?
Viruses are not living cells, so antibiotics don’t affect them.
What is herd immunity?
When enough people in a population are immune to a disease, making its spread unlikely and protecting others.
What is the largest organ in the human body?
Skin.
Explain how pathogens can spread from person to person.
Through contact (touch), air (coughing/sneezing), contaminated food/water, insects, or bodily fluids.
Explain the difference between innate and adaptive immunity.
Innate immunity is the body’s basic, immediate defence; adaptive immunity is a learned, specific defence that improves with exposure to pathogens.
Explain why some infectious diseases re-emerge after being controlled or eradicated, giving an example.
Diseases can re-emerge due to factors like declining vaccination rates, mutations in pathogens, or changes in environment. Example: measles can reappear in communities with low vaccination coverage.
Describe how the immune system responds to a vaccine.
It recognises harmless antigens from the vaccine, produces antibodies and memory cells, preparing to fight the real pathogen if it enters the body.
What is the hardest substance in the human body?
Tooth enamel.