Bacteria

Cards (15)

  • 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