Causes and Spread of Infection

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Causes and spread of infection 1.1 Identify the differences between bacteria, viruses fungi and parasites Bacteria: A bacteria is a single celled organism that is essential for all life. They are either a parasite or live independently. Bacteria have three basic shapes that include spiral, coccus and bacillus. Bacteria multiply themselves by cell division. Antibiotics can usually kill them. An example of bacteria is meningitis and pneumonia. Fungi: A fungus is a spore producing organism that has no chlorophyll and can live as single celled yeast or as a larger multi-cellular mould. It will reproduce by spores. It will live by absorbing certain nutrients from any organic matter. Fungi include moulds, mildews, mushrooms and yeasts. Fungi can cause disease in immune suppressed people, such as jock itch and ringworm. Penicillin is made from a fungus. Viruses: Viruses are microscopically small and are the simplest microbiological entity. A virus is not an independent living organism and needs a host cell to replicate. They are sub-microscopic parasitic particles of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) that are wrapped in protein. Viruses are immune to antibiotics and are spread in the air or by direct contact. They can lead to serious or sometimes deadly diseases, such as AIDS. Parasites: Parasite: parasite is an organism that lives on or inside another organism to the detriment of the host organism. These are of various forms and types. A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. Parasites can cause disease in humans. Some parasitic diseases are easily treated and some are not. The burden of these diseases often rests on communities in the tropics and subtropics, but parasitic infections also affect people in developed countries. Bacteria, fungi and viruses are all very different from one another. A big

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