Which of the following disease ic caused by a bacterium?

Step 1: Analyze the question You are asked to pick the disease whose causative agent (pathogen) is a bacterium.

Step 2: Identify the cause of each disease

| Option | Disease | Causative agent | Type of organism | |---|---|---|---| | A | Ringworm | Trichophyton / Microsporum | Fungus | | B | Poliomyelitis | Poliovirus | Virus | | C | Syphilis | Treponema pallidum | Bacterium | | D | Malaria | Plasmodium (spread by female Anopheles mosquito) | Protozoan |

Step 3: Explain the concept Diseases are grouped by the type of pathogen that causes them:

• Bacteria: syphilis, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid
• Viruses: polio, HIV/AIDS, measles, Lassa fever, rabies
• Fungi: ringworm, athlete's foot, candidiasis
• Protozoa: malaria, sleeping sickness, amoebic dysentery

Step 4: Answer Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spiral-shaped bacterium Treponema pallidum.

Tip: To remember the groups, think of the "wrong" ones as the usual traps. Ringworm has "worm" in its name but is a fungus, and malaria is a protozoan, not a bacterium. Make a four-column table (bacteria, virus, fungus, protozoa) and fill in examples. WASSCE and JAMB ask this often.