Pathogens and their classification
Pathogens | Category | Causative agent | Vector | Some popular virulence factor |
Plague (Yersinia pestis) | A | Bacterium | Rodent flea | Endotoxin—lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipid A with poor Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) |
Smallpox (Variola major) | A | Virus | Infected human | Endotoxin—SPICE, CKBP-II |
Botulism (clostridium botulinum) | A | Bacteria | toxin, bacteria spore | Exotoxin—neurotoxin |
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) | A | Bacteria | Infected animal | Exotoxin—capsule, lethal toxin, and edema toxin |
Tularaemia (Francisella tularensis) | A | Bacteria | Skin contact, tick, contaminated water or aerosols, lab exposure, deer fly bites | Unknown, but proteins such as MglA, IglC, AcpA and MinD have been implicated. |
Viral haemorrhagic fever Filovirus (Ebola) and Arenavirus (Lassa virus) | A | Virus | Infected animal—Ebola, multimammate rat—Lassa virus | Ebola: adherence factor (glycoprotein), VP35 Lassa: Glocoprotein, nucleoprotein |
Brucellosis (Brucella species) | B | Bacteria | Infected animal | Endotoxin—LPS, T4SS secretion and BvrR/BvrS. |
Glanders (Burkholderia mallei) | B | Bacteria | affected animals(eg, horses) | Quorum sensing, adhesion, capsular polysaccharide, actin-based motility, LPS |
melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei) | B | Bacteria | Contaminated water | Endotoxin—LPS |
Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci) | B | Bacteria | Contact with infected birds | Unknown |
Q Fever (Coxiella burnetti) | B | Bacteria | Contact with animal faeces, milk, products | Endotoxin—LPS |
Ricin toxin (Ricinus communis) | B | Poison, warfare agent | Castor beans | Toxin |
Epsilon toxin (clostridium perfringens) | B | Bacteria | Raw meat and poultry | Alpha toxin, kappa toxin |
Salmonella | B | Bacteria | Food | Invasion factors—type III secretion systems, T3SS1 and T3SS2 |
Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii) | B | Bacteria | fleas, lice, chiggers | T4SS secretion, Phospholipase A2 |
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B | B | Bacteria | Food poisoning | TSST-1 |
Vibrio cholera | B | Bacteria | Contaminated food or water | Cholera toxin |
Eastern equine encephalitis—Alphaviruses | B | Virus | Infected mosquito | Glocoprotein |
Nipah virus | C | Virus | Infected animals (bats, pigs) and infected humans. | V and C proteins |
Hantavirus | C | Virus | Rodents urine, faeces, saliva | Surface glycoproteins G1 and G2, G1 protein |