Bacteria: The Most Famous Microorganism | Good And Bad

Bacteria are found everywhere. There are more bacteria on your hand, than the people in this universe. Bacteria are unicellular microorganisms which come in so many varieties and shapes. The only organisms who came before them are the Archaea. Bacteria can be shaped like rods, spheres, cylinders and coils.

There are some intestinal bacteria who help us to keep our gut healthy. They also fight off invaders. They are also kind of functional food who give us more health than the normal vitamins and minerals. These bacteria are very helpful to us and are called "Probiotics". You must have even seen some food packets on which it would have written, "Added Probiotics". That is for the nourishment of the food.

All together an adult has around 2kgs of bacteria in his gut! Can you imagine then how many of them actually are inside you! 

Good bacteria helps us to destroy bad bacteria and they help us break down toxic and harmful material produced by these bad bacteria who try to come and invade our body. Good bacteria also slows down cells that go out of control like the cancer cells. These good bacteria also makes vitamins for our health. They can help us digest our food better and also, they help us or rather protect us from getting a lot of allergies which is bad for us. The bacteria processes our food and turns it into nutrients that our body cell uses for energy and for growing.

Bacteria mostly eat starches and sugars found on something organic. They eat what we eat as they live inside our body. Some probiotics like Lactic acid and streptococcus are used for food production like cheese, yogurt etc. Did you know that The deep water horizon oil spill near the gulf of Mexico in 2010, was cleared by oil eating bacteria! Amazing, right?

Bad Bacteria: Diseases like cholera and typhoid are spread by bad bacteria through contaminated drinking water. Bad bacteria also cause tuberculosis (TB) and Pneumonia through contaminated air. A deadly disease named the Bubonic Plague (Black death) was caused by a bacterium named Yersinia Pestis. It killed nearly half the people living in Europe during the 14th century when it started to spread. The bacterium was spread by fleas who lived on mice. And when people were bitten by this flea, they got diseased. 60% of the infected lot died in that plague. I can not even show you the images as you'll be horrified and mentally disturbed to see the images of the infectious people. You can imagine how terrifying the plague was. That's the effect of Bad bacteria. Thankfully, it is now eradicated and we are safe from almost all bacterial diseases.

Whatever carries the pathogen from the host to the receiver is called a vector. Pathogens are the disease causing bad microbe which make people sick.

Types of Bacteria based on their shape:

1) Spheres (Cocci)

a) Diplococci - Streptococcus pneumonial.

b) Streptococci - Streptococcus pyogenes.

2) Spirals

a) Spirilla - Helicobacter-pylori.

b) Spirochaetes - Treponama pallidum.

3) Rods (Bacilli)

a) Chain of bacilli - Bacillus anthrasis.

b) Flagellate rods - Salmonella typhil

c) Spore former - Clostridium Botulinum.

4) Comma (Vibrio)

a) Vibrios - Vibrio cholerae.

Examples of some dangerous microbial airborne diseases:

1) Meningitis.

2) Chickenpox.

3) Tuberculosis.

4) Influenza.

Symptoms: Runny nose, cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue and headaches.

But don't worry 95% of bacteria are good bacteria and less than 5% of them are very bad. So you just need to be safe from them. 90% of our body cells are bacterial.

So just be safe from those bad guys and you are all fine. You can prevent many infections and avoid spreading infections through simple tactics such as these:

1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
2. Cover coughs and sneezes.
3. Avoid touching your face.
4. Stay home if you're sick.
5. Clean and disinfect surfaces that are touched often.
6. Avoid contaminated food and water.

Fact: What are Germs?

The term "germs" refers to the microscopic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa that can cause disease. Washing hands well and often is the best way to prevent germs from leading to infections and sickness. The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or "germs" can lead to disease. These small organisms, too small to be seen without magnification, invade humans, other animals, and other living hosts.

There are obviously many more microbes, but bacteria is...you know...the most famous one. Yeah? Anyways, if you want to know what these bad guys do to us when they enter our body from outside and what our body does to defeat them, then do read the article on the Immune System.