Infectious Agents

Question 1

What are pathogens?

Answer 1

Disease causing organisms

Question 2

What are the 5 basic types of pathogens?

Answer 2

1. Prions
2. Viruses
3. Bacteria
4. Fungi
5. Animal parasites

Question 3

1. What is a prion?

2. Name 2 diseases caused by them.

Answer 3

1. Malformed proteins in neurons that cause infected cells to produce more prions
2. BSE & Creutzfeldt-Jacob (CJD)

Question 4

1. What are viruses?
2. How do they replicate?
3. Which viruses are massage therapists most likely to encounter?

Answer 4

1. Packets of DNA or RNA in a protein coat
2. They can’t replicate outside a host cell as they have no cellular ‘machinery’ (organelles), so they invade a host cell and use its cell ‘machinery’ to multiply.
3. Herpes simplex, Hepatitis A, B & C

Question 5

1. What are bacteria?

2. How do they do damage?

Answer 5

1. Single celled microorganisms that can survive outside the host. Some are harmful and some are essential e.g in digestion.
2. They do damage by invading host cells and/or releasing enzymes or toxins that destroy cells.

Question 6

1. What are fungi?

2. What normally causes them to be a problem in the body (give an eg.)?

Answer 6

1. A group of organisms that include yeasts & moulds

2. Imbalances in the body may cause them to replicate uncontrollably.