Pathogen
hideA pathogen (from Greek πάθος path "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι (γεν-) gignomai (gen-) "I give birth to"), infectious agent, or (more commonly) germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring a pathogen.
The body contains many natural defenses against some of the common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) in the form of the human immune system and by some "helpful" bacteria present in the human body's normal flora. However, if the immune system or "good" bacteria is damaged in any way (such as by chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or antibiotics being taken to kill other pathogens), pathogenic bacteria that were being held at bay can proliferate and cause harm to the host. Such cases are called opportunistic infection.
Some pathogens (such as the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which may have caused the Black Plague, the Variola virus, and the Maleria protozoa) have been responsible for massive numbers of casualties and have had numerous effects on afflicted groups. Of particular note in modern times is HIV, which is known to have infected several million humans globally, along with the Influenza virus. Today, while many medical advances have been made to safeguard against infection by pathogens, through the use of vaccination, antibiotics, and fungicide, pathogens continue to threaten human life. Social advances such as food safety, hygiene, and water treatment have reduced the threat from some pathogens.
Not all pathogens are negative. In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators, pathogens, and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress arthropod pest populations.
For more information about Pathogen, read the full article at
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News tagged with pathogens
Knockouts in human cells point to pathogenic targets
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whitehead researchers have developed a new approach for genetics in human cells and used this technique to identify specific genes and proteins required for pathogens.
Researchers find new piece of BSE puzzle
Nov 20, 2009 |
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A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) could be a step closer based on new results from scientists at the University of Leeds. The team has found ...
Antimicrobials: Silver (and copper) bullets to kill bacteria
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Dana Filoti of the University of New Hampshire will present thin films of silver and copper she has developed that can kill bacteria and may one day help to cut down on hospital infections. The antimicrobial properties of ...
Whooping cough immunity lasts longer than previously thought
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Immunity to whooping cough lasts at least 30 years on average, much longer than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers based at the University of Michigan and the University of New Mexico. Details are ...
Is short-term Celecoxib intervention a effective method for preventing gastric carcinogenesis?
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Helicobacter pylori has been accepted as an important pathogen inducing gastric cancer. A research group from Taiwan investigated optimal intervention point of Celecoxib, to inhibit H. pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis ...
New insight in the fight against the Leishmania parasite
Oct 23, 2009 |
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Professor Albert Descoteaux's team at Centre INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier, Canada, has gained a better understanding of how the Leishmania donovani parasite manages to outsmart the human immune system and proliferate with i ...
Parasite growth hormone pushes human cells to liver cancer
Oct 09, 2009 |
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Scientists have found that the human liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) contributes to the development of bile duct (liver) cancer by secreting granulin, a growth hormone that is known to cause uncontrolled growth of cel ...
Reservoir of deforming tropical disease sought
Oct 05, 2009 |
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Knowing what causes a disease may not make it easier to control and contain infection, but understanding how humans become infected and where the pathogens live may improve control. A National Science Foundation grant for ...
Peer pressure builds more latrines than financial assistance
Sep 30, 2009 |
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Government subsidies persuade some people to change habits, but social shame works even better, suggests a recent study of efforts to reduce elevated childhood death and disease rates blamed on the microbial pathogens that ...
Reclaimed Riddle
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It was the "yuck factor" of reclaimed water that got Karyna Rosario thinking. As communities increasingly turn to reclaimed water as a source for irrigation - and some communities consider ...
'Evolutionary forecasting' for drug resistance
Sep 21, 2009 |
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Rice University biochemists are developing a system of "evolutionary forecasting" to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
How HIV cripples immune cells
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Sep 16, 2009 |
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In order to be able to ward off disease pathogens, immune cells must be mobile and be able to establish contact with each other. The working group around Professor Dr. Oliver Fackler in the Virology Department ...
Scientists discover mechanism to make existing antibiotics more effective at lower doses
Sep 10, 2009 |
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A new study published in the September 11, 2009 issue of Science by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine reveals a conceptually novel mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus an ...
Improving vaccines to trigger T cell as well as antibody response
Sep 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Killed or disabled viruses have proven safe and effective for vaccinating billions worldwide against smallpox, polio, measles, influenza and many other diseases.
Large-scale study probes how cells fight pathogens
Sep 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have deciphered a key molecular circuit that enables the body to distinguish viruses from bacteria and other microbes, providing a deep view of how immune cells in mammals fend ...
