What Is a Pathogen?
The term “pathogen” comes from the Greek word “pathos,” which means “suffering, passion, or producer of.” In the biological sense, a pathogen is anything that can cause disease. It can also be known as a germ or infectious agent. This term was used in the 1880s to describe infectious agents or microorganisms such as a virus, bacterium, fungus, prion, or protozoan.
Although small animals such as insect larvae and worms can also result in disease, they are often referred to as parasites instead of pathogens. The field where one studies microscopic organisms is known as microbiology. When it is regarding the study of parasites and their hosts, it is known as parasitology. A pathogen can invade a host via several pathways. Diseases caused by infectious diseases are therefore known as pathogenic diseases.
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