Pathogenicity of Microorganisms

• When a pathogen like a virus, bacteria,

fungus, prions, etc. enters into the body
of a host and multiply or replicate over
there, causing harm to the host is called
infection. 
• When the condition of the body gets
altered from normal and functional
state of the organisms to the
abnormal and dysfunctional state,
associated with certain different
kinds of signs and symptoms is called
as disease. 
 Host-Parasite Interactions
• If a symbiont either harms or lives at the
expense of another organism (the host),
it is a parasitic organism, and the
relationship is called parasitism.
• Final host
• Intermediate host
• Transfer host
• Reservoir host
 Infectious diseases
• Pathogens
• The ability of an infectious agent to cause
disease is called pathogenicity.
• Primary pathogens
• Opportunistic pathogens
• The outcome of most host-parasite
relationships is dependent on three main
factors:
• the number of organisms present in or on the
host
• the virulence of the organism
• the host’s defenses or degree of resistance.
 Virulence
• Invasiveness, infectivity & pathogenic
potential
Pathogenesis of bacterial diseases
 Maintaining a reservoir
• The most common reservoirs for
human pathogens are other humans,
animals, and the environment.
• The most obvious means for
transport is direct contact—from
host to host (coughing, sneezing,
body contact).
• Indirect means
– Soil, water, and food are indirect vehicles
that harbor and transmit bacteria to hosts.
– Vectors
– fomites
Attachment and Colonization by the Bacterial
Pathogen
• Colonization means the
establishment of a site of microbial
reproduction on or within a host.
• Ability of the bacteria to compete
successfully with the HOST’S normal
microbiota for essential nutrients
Invasion of the Bacterial Pathogen
• Attacking the ground substance and
basement membranes of integuments
and intestinal linings
• Degrading carbohydrate-protein
complexes between cells or on the cell
surface (the glycocalyx)
• Disrupting the cell surface
 Passive mechanisms
• wounds, abrasions, or burns on the skin’s
surface
• small breaks, lesions, or ulcers
• arthropod vectors that create small wounds
while feeding
• tissue damage caused by other organisms
• Growth and Multiplication of the
Bacterial Pathogen
• Leaving the Host
 Pathogenicity Islands
• The enteropathogenic E. coli possesses
large DNA fragments, 35 to 170 kilobases
in size, that contain several virulence
genes absent from commensal E. coli.
• Large DNA segments carrying genes
encoding for virulence factors.