Pathogen Report (HIV)

BIO260
Pathogen Written Report

For
this assignment you will investigate a microbe that causes disease in humans.
It is first come, first served in selecting microbe from the list. DUE MONDAY, June 14th by 11:59 p.m.

The
body of your report should be 5-6 written pages long, not including any
optional page of diagrams or the reference page. Please use size 12 font, double spacing, and 1
margins.

This
report should be a synthesis of your knowledge, not a bunch of cutting and
pasting and not a lot of quotes from experts.
You do not need to make citations within the text but include at the end
on the reference page. Your written
report should include the following information:

1. State why you chose your organism.
Was it because you heard of it but didnt know what it was? Do you know someone who suffered from this
pathogen? Something else? Last year, a student selected because she
thought it had the longest, craziest name!

2. Classification and description of organism,
depending on the category (i.e. bacteria, viruses, protozoa, or fungi) of
pathogen will include:
Bacteria:
Family classification, Gram stain reaction and shape, oxygen
requirements, motility, virulence factors or traits involved in disease (such
as capsules, endospores, hemolysin, cytotoxins, coagulase and other virulence
factors)
Virus:
Family classification, enveloped or naked virus, type of capsid, shape,
size, RNA or DNA
Protozoa:
Phylum classification, general life cycle, any specialized structures or
organelles, and special enzymes and/or toxins produced
Fungus:
Phylum classification, description of sporangia and spores, any
specialized structures or organelles, any enzymes and/or toxins produced, or
important structures;

3. Disease Description:
Describe pathology (areas infected, signs and symptoms), length of
incubation period if known;

4. Disease Frequency:
Note the specific regions and/or individuals susceptible to this
infection, and show morbidity and mortality rates in affected parts of the
world;

5. Source: Does the pathogen
normally live in the environment (non-living source), non-human animal
(zoonotic source), or human carriers (carrier-type);

6. Transmission:
Does it pass from person to person via vehicles, carriers, or vectors;
how is transmission prevented;

7. Tests: Identify the common
laboratory method(s) used to diagnose this disease;

8. Therapy: Describe
antimicrobial agents used to treat the infection and how they work, any
vaccines available, and whether infection grants lasting immunity (temporary or
permanent);

9. New Data: Share at least one
piece of new data about the infectious agent based on current research
(published within the last five years).

Optional:
you may include a page of diagrams &/or
photos at the end of your report if you find it useful. You can then
reference them in the body of your report (ex: This microbe causes severe
discoloration of the skin, see figure 1.).
The page of figures does not count toward your page count.

10.
End with a reference page
with at least 4 references (format can be MLA, APA, or from a scientific
journal such as Science or Nature). URLs
alone are not complete references, so make sure to include information about
the author(s) and publication date your sources.

Last Completed Projects