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The photograph shows a housefly - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 1 - 2014 - Paper 1
Question 1
The photograph shows a housefly. (a) Houseflies can be the animal vector for the disease dysentery. Complete the sentence by putting a cross (✗) in the box next to... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The photograph shows a housefly - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 1 - 2014 - Paper 1
Step 1
Step 2
Describe how a housefly can cause a person to become infected with dysentery.
Answer
Houseflies can transmit dysentery through several mechanisms:
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Biting and feeding: Houseflies often land on fecal matter where they can pick up pathogens including protozoans. When they land on food, they can transfer these pathogens to the food.
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Contaminated surfaces: Houseflies can carry the dysentery-causing protozoan on their legs and bodies, which can contaminate surfaces that people may touch or food that they may eat.
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Fecal-oral transmission: When flies ingest feces, they can carry the protozoan from one location to another, leading to the transfer of these harmful microorganisms to humans, who can then ingest them inadvertently.