Asked by Chuck Bass

Pneumonia and some cases of food poisoning can be caused by bacteria that are a normal part of the human microbiota.

True
False

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
True.

Normal microbiota can become opportunistic pathogens (or produce toxins) and cause disease when they reach normally sterile sites, overgrow, or the host is weakened. Examples: Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus from the nasopharynx can cause pneumonia; Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin (from carrier skin/nasal flora) or some Clostridium/Escherichia strains in the gut can cause food poisoning.