Key learning points

1. Some, but not all, bacteria are pathogens that can cause communicable diseases in humans.
2. Pathogenic bacteria produce toxins that damage living tissue and cause disease.
3. Cholera, TB and Helicobacter stomach ulcers as example; how they are spread, and how the spread can be reduced.
4. Viruses invade cells to reproduce where they cause damage to cells.
5. Ebola as an example of a viral disease; how it is spread, and how the spread can be reduced.

Keywords

• Bacteria - single celled prokaryotes

• Pathogen - a microorganism that causes disease

• Communicable disease - a disease that can be spread from one organism to another

• Toxin - a poison made by bacteria

• Virus - an infectious agent

Common misconception