Pathogenicity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pathogenicity is the ability of an organism to cause disease in another organism, thus called Pathogen.

It is often used interchangeably with the term "virulence", although some authors prefer to reserve the latter term for descriptions of the relative degree of damage done by a pathogen. Pathogens are infectious agents that cause disease and include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and higher parasites. The agents responsible for the CJD and BSE are also pathogenic.