Eukaryotic pathogen

Virulence Factors:

Pili: These hair-like appendages are crucial for adherence to host cells, particularly those lining the urogenital tract. They also help the bacteria evade the immune system by undergoing antigenic variation, which changes their surface proteins.

Porin proteins (PorB): These proteins allow the bacterium to survive within host cells, preventing the fusion of phagosomes with lysosomes, a process that would normally destroy the invading bacteria.

Opa proteins: These proteins promote tight binding to host cells, facilitating entry and inhibiting the immune response.

Associated Diseases:

Gonorrhea: A sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can affect the urethra, cervix, rectum, or throat. In women, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), while in men, it can cause epididymitis.

Disseminated Gonococcal Infection (DGI): A systemic infection that occurs when the bacteria spread to other parts of the body, leading to joint pain, skin lesions, and tenosynovitis (tendon inflammation).

2. The Viral Pathogen: Influenza Virus (Influenza A)

System: Respiratory system.

Modes of Transmission: Primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can be inhaled by a susceptible person or land on surfaces, which are then touched before the person touches their own mouth, nose, or eyes.

Sample Answer

Pathogens of the Human Body 🦠

Here are three pathogens, one bacterial, one viral, and one eukaryotic, that affect different human body systems.

1. The Bacterial Pathogen: Neisseria gonorrhoeae

System: Urogenital and other systems (e.g., eyes, throat).

Modes of Transmission: Primarily through sexual contact (vaginal, anal, or oral). It can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her newborn during childbirth, leading to a serious eye infection called ophthalmia neonatorum.