SCIE10004 – The Perfect Pandemic Pathogen

Answer the following questions based on what you have learned so far. We will discuss
the answers in class:

What’s going on in the real world…

Small pox in the New World

What factors do you think contributed to the devastating effect of small pox in the new
world?

The origin of AIDS

What factors affected the spread of HIV across the globe?
Very long incubation period – people can be asymptomatic for 2-15 years and spread
HIV to many others during that time

A vector borne disease -Malaria

What regions of the world are likely to affected by malaria?
What factors will affect the incidence of malaria?
Developing/third world countries
- poor sanitation
- poor quality water supply

Mixing it up with influenza

What features of influenza virus contribute to the development of pandemic flu strains?
Highly contagious

Ability to affect multiple hosts

Reassortment
Cholera and natural disaster
Will epidemics of cholera always occur following natural disasters that disrupt water and
sanitation? Why/why not?

No – bacteria must already be present in that location

Need a combination of factors – natural disaster alone will not cause cholera
Can already be in some environments e.g. marine life

A symptomatic disease - Ebola virus disease

What feature of Ebola virus disease has limited its global spread?

A spreading problem - Plague

What limits/ contributes to the spread if bubonic plague?
Would the same factor limit/contribute to the spread of pneumonic plague?
Infected flea bites, rodents

Respiratory droplets – pneumonic plague

 The perfect pandemic pathogen
If you were to build the perfect pandemic pathogen what attributes would you want to ensure
that you could take over the world? Enter your responses here (for your reference) and in the
Google form (tinyurl.com/6vsth5xy) for class discussion:

Attribute Example Why

Type of microbe

Route of infection Epithelial surfaces if

obtained directly
from the source,
then
inhalation/ingestion
if obtained from
another person
Spread Direct bodily contact
and airborne when
symptoms are
present
Release

Mechanism of injury

Incubation period Long

Symptoms

Infectious period Before symptoms

Immune evasion
Treatment resistance
and during
Alters its antigens to
appear like proteins
present in the host
cell

Secret weapon

 Type of microbe
o Virus, bacteria, fungus, prion, parasite
 Route
o Epithelial surfaces (insect/ animal bites, injection, injury), inhalation, ingestion, sexual transmission,
vertical transmission
 Spread
o Localised or systemic
 Release
o Skin shedding, coughing and sneezing, through urine and feces, during sexual contact, through
insect vectors, blood
 Mechanism of injury
o Binding or invasion, toxins, immune response
 Incubation period (how long after exposure before patient has symptoms)
o Short or long
 Symptoms
 o General or specific
 Infectious period
o When is disease transmitted (before/during/after symptoms)
 Immune evasion
o Do you have a plan?
 Treatment resistance
o Do you have a plan?