We Know: All About Bacteria and Bacterial Infections What are bacteria? Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms, or prokaryotes, that are able to grow without any assistance from other cells. Bacteria can be beneficial (as in bacteria that line the human intestine and help to digest foods), or harmful. Harmful bacteria are responsible for bacterial infections. Bacterial infections occur when bacteria multiply and produce toxins that invade other cells and tissues. Bacteria are responsible for the common cold, and cause diseases such as diphtheria, strep throat, Cat Scratch disease, Lyme Disease, Chlamydia, Typhoid Fever, and Legionnaire's Disease. Infected food can cause Salmonella and E. coli food poisoning. How does one get a bacterial infection? Bacteria are present everywhere. They live on land, air, and sea, and they can be transmitted to humans by the very things they inhabit. The primary modes of bacterial infection occur by: Contact, through contaminated objects or sexual contact. Airborne contacts, such as inhalation of infected droplets (sneezing, coughing, etc.). Transmission by fecal contamination of food and water sources. By vectors that carry the infection (mosquitoes and fleas). What kinds of infections do bacteria cause? The kinds of infections that bacteria cause include: Colonization, or sub-clinical infections, which present no symptoms. A person with a sub-clinical infection serves as a carrier of the infection. Latent infection - the infection remains dormant in the individual. Exogenous infection - the person acquires the infection from an outside source. Endogenous infection - the person acquires the infection from an internal source. How are bacterial infections treated? When a foreign organism that causes infection is encountered in the body, the body produces chemicals called antibodies to combat the infection. This is known as active immunity. However, if the antibodies are not enough to combat an infection, passive immunity, such as vaccines or antibiotics, may be used. Vaccines are given to uninfected patients in anticipation of possible infection. Vaccines contain weakened forms of the bacteria that induces the body produce antibodies against it. However, if a person already carries the infection and cannot get rid of it, doctors may subscribe an antibiotic. Antibiotics are used in high-risk individuals to prevent further growth of the bacteria. The dangers of using antibiotics include antibiotic resistance since bacteria mutate rapidly and can develop a resistance to a particular drug. This has become more common with the overuse of antibiotics. How does one prevent bacterial infections? The best protection against a bacterial infection is avoidance of the contaminated object. However, if avoidance is not possible, the safest precaution is to wash hands thoroughly after touching an object. Individuals should also wash raw foods and vegetables before consumption.
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