What is the difference between a primary and an opportunistic pathogen?

Answer 1

Primary Pathogens are the microorganisms that cause diseases in healthy individual.

Opportunistic Pathogens are the microorganisms that are ordinarily in contact with the host and cause disease when the host's resistance is low.

Answer 2

Types of bacterial pathogens. There are three categories of bacterial pathogens. Obligate pathogens are those bacteria that must cause disease in order to be transmitted from one host to another. These bacteria must also infect a host in order to survive, in contrast to other bacteria that are capable of survival outside of a host. Examples of obligate bacterial pathogens include Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Treponema pallidum. Opportunistic pathogens can be transmitted from one host to another without having to cause disease. However, in a host whose immune system is not functioning properly, the bacteria can cause an infection that leads to a disease. In those cases, the disease can help the bacteria spread to another host. Examples of http://www.answers.com/topic/opportunistic bacterial pathogens include Vibrio cholerae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Finally, some bacterial pathogens cause disease only accidentally. Indeed, the disease actually limits the spread of the bacteria to another host. Examples of these "accidental' pathogens include Neisseria meningitides and Bacteroides fragilis.

Answer 3

A true pathogen when ever interact with a host will cause a disease, where as a oportunistic pathogen is in normal condition is a normal microbe but in conidtion of immunocompression or in any injury when this get access to internal system of body then they cause disease. A true pathogen is an infectious agent that causes disease in any susceptible host, whereas an opportunistic pathogen causes disease in immunocompromised hosts (people whose immune system has been suppressed or its mechanisms have been breached).

Answer 4

A true pathogen affects the host when it interacts with the host. On the other hand, the opportunistic pathogen affects the host only when it gets access to the internal system of body.