Question

Both normal and transient flora can become opportunistic pathogens. True or False

Answer 1

True

Step-by-step explanation:

The term skin flora (also commonly referred to as skin microbiota )

refers to the microorganisms which reside on the skin, typically

human skin.

There exists 2 kinds of flora:

Normal (resident) flora are microorganisms that are always present

on or in a person and usually do not cause any disease.

Transient flora that are not always resident on a persons skin,they act like visitors.

Skin microflora can be commensals, mutualistic or pathogens . Often

they can be all three depending upon the strength of the person's

immune system .Research upon the immune system in the gut

and lungs has shown that microflora aids immunity development:

however such research has only started upon whether this is the

case with the skin.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an example of a

mutualistic bacterium that can turn into a pathogen and cause

disease: if it gains entry into the circulatory system it can result in

infections in bone, joint, gastrointestinal, and respiratory systems. It

can also cause dermatitis.

Answer 2

True

Step-by-step explanation:

Normal flora are microorganisms that are regarded as resident organisms, which can be found on or in an individual and do not cause any disease.

the transient flora refers to microorganisms that are found on the skin or the hands which are there through direct contact with person or object, and are easily removed by routine hand hygiene. Example is Norovirus that can cause stomach flu.

Opportunistic pathogens are microorganisms such as the bacteria and virus, which can only cause infection when the immune system is down. This means that , these organisms can not cause any infection as long as the immune system is ok.

In this case, the normal and transient flora like Norovirus can only cause infection when the immune system is down. That is why they are regarded as opportunistic pathogens.