BIO 3372 Lecture 15: Chapter 15 - Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity
Document Summary
Disease due to microbes is a rare event. Microbes are looking for food and defending themselves. A thorough understanding is essential to develop better, novel vaccines and therapeutic agents for treatment and prevention. Pathogenicity - the ability to cause disease by overcoming host defenses. Virulence - the degree (how well) of pathogenicity. Mucous membranes: respiratory tract - easiest and most frequent, inhale into nose or mouth moisture droplets or dust. Gastrointestinal tract - food, water, ngers; most die due to stomach acid, bile, enzymes; eliminated in feces. Accessed by openings, hair follicles, sweat gland ducts. Deposited directly into tissues when barriers are penetrated. The likelihood of disease increases as the number of pathogens increases. Id50 - infectious does for 50% of a sample population - measures virulence of a microbe. Ld50 - lethal dose for 50% of a sample population. Monday, october 10, 2016 measures potency of a toxin.
