• Question: How do you find desease?

    Asked by to Kim, Jennifer, James on 18 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Kimberley Lowe

      Kimberley Lowe answered on 18 Jun 2014:

      In my work, we find disease by looking at all the data we have. For example we look at mortality on a farm (how many fish have died) over a time period. If this is higher than normal, then a disease might be present. We also have a look at the fish. If there are fish that look lethargic and are hanging about (rather than swimming normally), or are a different colour, then that also might be a sign of disease. If we see fish like that then we would take some out to take tissue samples, and again we are looking for anything unusual that might indicate disease (discoloured organs, swelling, haemorrhaging). I imagine the process of finding disease in other animals/people/plants is similar 🙂

    • Photo: Jennifer Stephens

      Jennifer Stephens answered on 18 Jun 2014:

      Hi sammyrane123
      Plants get lots of diseases. Sometimes you can see it on the leaves, but other times its hidden in the leaves or roots. Fungus, bacteria and viruses can all cause disease on plants.
      I work with plant pathologists who study these diseases. Sometimes they cut bits of leaf or stem off the plants to look real close up under microscope to see what is inside the plants cells.

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