Bacteria

• Most bacteria don't have anything to do with humans, and the ones that do actually help us
• There are trillions of bacteria in your intestines right now helping you break down your dinner
• In this video, we're going to focus on the few bad bacteria that infect humans and cause disease
• Bacteria


  Single-celled organisms about 100 times smaller than our own cells
• Bacteria can replicate rapidly within our bodies because of the good food supply
• Bacteria may produce toxins


  Which make us feel ill by damaging our cells and tissues
• Bacterial disease


  • Salmonella
  • Gonorrhea
• Salmonella


  Causes food poisoning, can be caught from contaminated food, especially chicken
• In the UK, most chickens have to be vaccinated against salmonella, so it's relatively rare
• If you catch salmonella

  You're likely to get a fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea
• Salmonella generally passes by itself within a week, and people just need to stay well hydrated and have a sick bowl close by
• Gonorrhea


  A sexually transmitted disease (STD) passed on through sexual contact, such as unprotected sex
• Gonorrhea


  • Main symptoms are pain when urinating and a thick yellow-green discharge from the vagina or penis
• Gonorrhea used to be treated with common antibiotics like penicillin, but now many strains are resistant to penicillin, so rarer and more expensive antibiotics are used
• Prevention of gonorrhea is through avoiding unsafe sex and using barrier methods of contraception like condoms