Microbes

and Disease
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 Contents

What are microbes?

Uses of microbes

How microbes cause disease

Fighting disease

Summary activities

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 What are microbes?
Microbes are very small
living things and are
sometimes called
micro-organisms.

Microbes are so tiny that they

cannot be seen with the
naked eye. They can only be
seen using a microscope.

How many different microbes

can you name?

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Walk in

I have a car that gets 19 mpg (miles per

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Air filter = +3 mpg $22
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Transmission fluid = +4 mpg $ 75
Fuel cleaner = +4 mpg $45
Aerodynamic adjustment = +5 mpg $ 90
Reduce weight of car = + 6mpg $ 180

What is the best way I can spend money to get the most? YOU HAVE 250$ TO WORK WITH!

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 Different types of microbes
There are three types of microbes:
microbes

bacteria viruses fungi

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 Bacteria fact file
Bacteria e.g. Salmonella and Streptococcus

size: 1/1000 mm
shape: Bacteria can be spherical,
rod-shaped or comma-shaped.
structure: Bacteria are single-
celled organisms.
Some cause disease, but many
are useful.
reproduction: Bacteria reproduce
very quickly. Two can very quickly
become four, then eight and so on.

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 Viruses fact file
Viruses e.g. flu virus and HIV (the AIDS virus)

size: 1/1,000,000 mm
shape: Viruses have regular
and geometric shapes.
structure: A virus does not
display ALL the characteristics
of living things.
reproduction: Viruses can only
grow and reproduce within other
living things.

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 Fungi fact file
Fungi e.g. Penicillium and yeast

size: Some fungi can actually

be seen with the naked eye,
others are slightly bigger than
bacterial cells.
shape: Fungi come in many
different shapes.
structure: Fungi have the
most complex structures of
all the microbes. They feed
off other living things.

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 Contents

Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?

Uses of microbes

How microbes cause disease

Fighting disease

Summary activities

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 Using microbes – bacteria and fungi
Microbes have many uses that are based on the fact
that microbes can be grown.
Bacteria grow in milk to make it ‘go off’.

 This type of bacterial growth is used

to make milk into yogurt.

 Cheese is another product that is

made from milk.

Fungi can also be used to make food. The meat substitute

Quorn is a protein produced using fungi.

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 Contents

Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?

Uses of microbes

How microbes cause disease

Fighting disease

Summary activities

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 Microbes can cause disease
The diseases caused by microbes and their severity depend
on the type of microbe.
viruses bacteria fungi
influenza (flu) food poisoning fungal sinusitis
mumps sore throats athlete’s foot
chickenpox tuberculosis discolored toe
(TB) nails
smallpox tetanus
polio cholera
rabies typhoid
measles whooping cough
viral bacterial
meningitis meningitis

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 How are microbes spread?
The spreading of microbes and disease is known as
transmission.

1. Transmission by air
A cough or a sneeze can release
millions of microbes into the air
which can then infect somebody
else.

2. Transmission by water
Dirty water can transmit many
diseases, e.g. cholera, which
can be transmitted by drinking.

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 How are microbes spread?

3. Transmission by animals
An animal can carry a microbe from
one place to another, e.g. a mosquito
which spreads the malaria parasite.

4. Transmission by contact
Many microbes can be exchanged from one
person to another by direct or indirect contact:
 direct contact by hand;
 indirect contact, e.g. by walking on a
wet floor already contaminated by
someone else who has athlete’s foot;

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 How is the spread of disease stopped?
The spread of disease can be prevented by making sure
that good hygiene is used in key places such as bathrooms
and kitchens.

Chemicals called antibiotics can be

used to treat bacterial infections.

People can be immunized against

some diseases by the injection of a
vaccine.

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 Contents

Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?

Uses of microbes

How microbes cause disease

Fighting disease

Summary activities

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 Fighting microbes
How does the body fight off microbes that cause disease?

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 What do white blood cells do?
The human body has a number of natural defences against
microbes. Noses are hairy inside to trap microbes!
white blood cell
The body also produces
white blood cells to help
defend it from microbes.

Some white blood cells

can destroy microbes
by engulfing them.

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 White blood cell engulfs microbe – animation

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 White blood cell and antibodies – animation

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 Contents

8C Microbes and Disease

What are microbes?

Uses of microbes

How microbes cause disease

Fighting disease

Summary activities

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 Glossary
 antibiotics – Chemicals prescribed as medicine to kill
bacteria inside the body.
 antibodies – Chemicals produced by white blood cells
to fight microbes that cause disease.
 bacteria – The type of microbes that are single-celled
organisms.
 fungi – The type of microbes that feed off other living
things.
 immune – Resistance to infection caused by a microbe.
 microbe – A very small living thing.
 transmission – The spread of a disease from person to
person.
 viruses – The type of microbes that can only grow and
reproduce within other living things.

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 Anagrams

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