Name _____________________________ Infectious Disease Agents 30 Informal Points – Introduction In this activity you will begin exploring the different types of pathogens as well as examining specific examples of each type in order to identify what is plaguing Anna. There are six major types of infectious agents: bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, helminthes, and prions. You will investigate a variety of diseases caused by infectious agents and use this information to determine the tests you will need to perform in the subsequent activities to fill in the missing pieces from Anna’s medical history. Procedure Read through each of the Diseases Card. As you read, highlight key information on each disease. Note any similarities between the diseases caused by the same type of infectious agent. Based on this, fill in the following table: Does the Agent Type of Disease Modes of How the Agent Require a Host Infectious Agent Examples Transmission is Treated for Reproduction? Airborne, sharing TB (Tuberculosis), food or drinks, Bacteria NO Antibiotics sometimes sexual Strep Throat contact Let it run its course, antiviral medications may Airborne, sharing be used if Common Cold, food or drink, Viruses Yes absolutely Flu sometimes sexual necessary but contact typically come with undesirable side effects Skin to skin contact, Antifungal Ringworm, Fungus skin to infected No medications and Athletes Foot surface contact topical creams Medications that Eating infected meat Giardiasis, are poisons to Protozoa or drinking Yes Malaria, the specific to contaminated water the pathogen Oral Trichinosis, medications that Helminthes Eating infected meat Yes are toxic to the Tapeworm worm Eating cow brain or No effective Mad Cox memeat treatment is Prions Yes disease contaminated by cow known at this brain time If necessary, use the Internet to research the six types of infectious agents and fill in any missing information in the table above. Conclusion Questions Why is it useful for epidemiologists, scientists who disease, to categorize diseases based on different factors, such as modes of transmission? Modes of transmission help them develop vaccines, medications and ways to prevent the illnesses. Knowing what type of an organism it is helps them develop cures.
Name _____________________________ Infectious Disease Agents – 30 Informal Points Introduction In this activity you will begin exploring the different types of pathogens as well as examining specific examples of each type in order to identify what is plaguing Anna. There are six major types of infectious agents: bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, helminthes, and prions. You will investigate a variety of diseases caused by infectious agents and use this information to determine the tests you will need to perform in the subsequent activities to fill in the missing pieces from Anna’s medical history. Procedure Read through each of the Diseases Card. As you read, highlight key information on each disease. Note any similarities between the diseases caused by the same type of infectious agent. Based on this, fill in the following table: Type of Infectious Agent Disease Examples Modes of Transmission Does the Agent Require a Host for Reproduction? How the Agent is Treated Bacteria TB (Tuberculosis), Strep Throat Airborne, sharing food or drinks, sometimes sexual contact NO Antibiotics Viruses Common Cold, Flu Airborne, sharing food or drink, sometimes sexual contact Yes Let it run its course, antiviral medications may be used if absolutely necessary but typically come with undesirable side effects Fungus Ringworm, Athletes Foot Skin to skin contact, skin to infected surface contact No Antifungal medications and topical creams Protozoa Giardiasis, Malaria, Eating infected meat or drinking contaminated water Yes Medications that are poisons to the specific to the pathogen Helminthes Trichinosis, Tapeworm Eating infected meat Yes Oral medications that are toxic to the worm Prions Mad Cox disease Eating cow brain or memeat contaminated by cow brain Yes No effective treatment is known at this time If necessary, use the Internet to research the six types of infectious agents and fill in any missing information in the table above. Conclusion Questions Why is it useful for epidemiologists, scientists who disease, to categorize diseases based on different factors, such as modes of transmission? Modes of transmission help them develop vaccines, medications and ways to prevent the illnesses. Knowing what type of an organism it is helps them develop cures.
Infectious%20Disease%20Agents%20KEY.docx