• Question: What is the most dangerous microorganism known to mankind and what is its vector(s)?

    Asked by anon-233076 to Varun, Sammie, Rebecca, Anna, Alin, Adam on 20 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Samantha Firth

      Samantha Firth answered on 20 Nov 2019:

      I would say Clostridium Botulinum – the MOST POTENT toxin known to man!🔮 You can ingest it or it can develop in wounds. It attacks the nervous system by producing the neurotoxin botulinum❌ It and causes issues with breathing, swallowing and speaking. You eventually stop breathing altogether because your muscles become paralysed and then you die 🙃😳‼

    • Photo: Rebecca Shaw

      Rebecca Shaw answered on 20 Nov 2019: last edited 20 Nov 2019 1:49 pm

      I would still say Mycobacterium tuberculosis! It is naasty and is given the infectious status as deadly. It is multi drug resistant meaning it is hard to treat and fight off. It is also super sneaky because it evades detection by hiding in our very own white blood cells – our bodies defence system!

      It was thought it caused the White Plague and has been found in body remains from about 9000 years ago, so it is an ancient pathogen too! It is spread by humans and within droplets of our spit or snot.

      For Zoonotic diseases, the most deadly we are looking at could either be Swine Influenza or Ebola. These have a deadly reputation and have animal vectors.
      Ebola for example is a virus that spreads when a human comes in contact with an infected animal by either touching its skin or coming into contact with bodily fluids. There are five known strains of this virus and no real cure. The fruit bat is thought to be a carrier for the disease (not affected by it) but it is known to kill humans and apes, chimpanzees.

    • Photo: Varun Ramaswamy

      Varun Ramaswamy answered on 20 Nov 2019: last edited 20 Nov 2019 3:20 pm

      Any microorganism that can kill you and is NOT affected by medicines is equally dangerous to you.. even if one of them eats your stomach and the other eats a lot more of your body.
      So both Sammie’s and Rebecca’s answers are correct and there are many more. Neigleria Fowleri is an amoeba that gets into your body through the sir you breathe and it eats the part of your brain that controls pain and temperature control. So you will a huge spike of pain and burning sensation throughout your body, but you will never know where it is coming from!

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