noun · academic
pathogen
/ˈpæθədʒən/PATH·o·gen
Band 7+speakingtask2
An organism or agent that causes disease.
Examples
“Researchers are trying to identify the pathogen responsible for the outbreak.”
“Different pathogens require different methods of control.”
“Bacterial pathogens spread rapidly in poor sanitation.”
Band 8 sentence
“Effective public-health measures depend on knowing whether the pathogen is bacterial or viral.”
Collocations
- identify the pathogen
- pathogenic organism
- transmit pathogens
Word family
pathogenic adjectivepathogenesis noun
Common mistakes
virus→pathogen
bacteria→pathogen
Say it for a higher band
5germ→6virus→7+pathogen
Synonyms
germ
infectious agent
Easily confused
virus
“The investigators identified a new virus in the samples.”
Related words
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In Health & Fitness
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