The specification asks you to know five infections: what causes each one and the damage it does.
- Cholera is caused by bacteria. It causes diarrhoea, which makes the person lose a lot of water and salts from the body.
- Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria. It damages the lungs.
- Chalara ash dieback is caused by a fungus. It infects ash trees and causes leaf loss and bark lesions.
- Malaria is caused by a protist. It damages the blood and the liver.
- HIV is a virus. It destroys white blood cells, which can lead to the onset of AIDS.
Note that the same pathogen type can cause very different symptoms, depending on which part of the body it infects.