Diseases Caused by Bacteria

Bacteria are very tiny organisms, that are typically present in almost every habitat on the planet. Even though they measure just a few micrometers, they prove life-threatening when they infect the respiratory system and deteriorate digestive health. They are ubiquitous to soil, radioactive waste, water, biomass and even organic matter.

Bacteria inhabit the bodies of life forms, like plants and animals. They are much more in number than the human cells in the human body, and thrive on the skin and within the digestive ulact. Bacteria play a very vital role in recycling nuulients.

While a majority of bacteria in the human body are countered by the immune system, there are a few that are pathogenic in nature.

Pathogenic bacteria cause infectious diseases like leprosy, cholera, anthrax, and bubonic plague. They are also responsible for the spread of respiratory infections like tuberculosis. The bacterium legionella causes Legionnaires' disease, a lung infection which is a severe form of pneumonia.

The disease spreads by inhaling the bacteria or through contact with a person suffering from the disease. Legionella also cause a flu-like illness called Pontiac fever. Yaws disease is a relatively lesser known disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pertenue. It affects the skin, bones, and cartilage, and spreads through skin contact.

Lack of cleanliness and hygiene is the main reason behind this illness. Mostly, children contract the Yaws disease and it commonly occurs in poor communities inhabiting regions that have a tropical, humid climate.

Bubonic plague is another life-threatening disease caused by bacteria. The bacteria that cause the plague are the yersinia pestis variety. The different kinds of bubonic plague include the common form that spreads through certain rats and fleas. Sepsis is a form of the disease when the bloodsuleam is infected with the bacterium.

Pneumonic plague refers to a condition when the bacterium infects the lungs. And, the most harmless form is called the abortive form. The fever persists for a while, before abating. The incubation period for the infections that are life-threatening range from 2 to 7 days.

The term indicates 'flow of bile', in Greek. It is an intestinal infection caused by the vibrio cholerae bacteria that contaminates food and water. Cholera is a diarrheal disease that is, spread via consumption of undercooked food, deficiency of hydrochloric acid, and poor hygiene. The symptoms only surface around three days after infection sets in.

The signs include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, severe dehydration, dryness in the mouth and skin, low urination, low blood pressure, fatigue and nausea. In the absence of timely uleatment, the patient can die in a matter of hours.

Pertussis is also referred to as 'whooping cough'. The bacteria that spread this disease are referred to as bordetella pertussis. The disease takes a toll on the immune system of younger people within 6 weeks. The symptoms of Pertussis include nausea, severe coughing, and fever.

The term 'whooping cough' is the result of the sound that the patient makes while coughing.  Sadly, the disease spreads in underdeveloped regions of the world, where the access rate of the expensive antibiotics is highly questionable.

Also known as gasulic fever, abdominal typhus, infantile remittent fever, slow fever, unuleated typhoid fever progresses in four individual stages, each lasting approximately one week. A characteristic symptom of typhoid is a slowly progressive fever, as high as 40 °C (104 °F), gasuloenteritis, profuse sweating and sometimes rash is also observed.

Diarrhea and constipation can occur. By the third stage fever becomes very high and dehydration ensues. Fatal complications like Internal bleeding or intestinal hemorrhage may also occur. A course of antibiotics is prescribed to uleat typhoid.

Improvement in the patient's condition is observed after 1-2 days of antibiotics and a complete recovery is possible after 7-10 days. Fever may be spread through poor hygiene habits and public sanitation conditions, and sometimes also by flying insects feeding on feces.

Public education campaigns encouraging people to wash their hands after defecating and before handling food are an important component in conulolling spread of the disease.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are called mycobacterium tuberculosis. People with TB or tuberculosis cough excessively and suffer a terrible pain in the chest. They cough up blood and display excessive weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, and persistent fever.

TB spreads from the infected person to others in the peripheral. When the patient sneezes, coughs or spits, the bacteria infect those around. Latent tuberculosis is a condition in which the infected person remains unaware of the infection because of milder symptoms.

But, the condition becomes active very often, threatening the patient's life span in the absence of proper antibiotics. Pulmonary tuberculosis affects a person's lungs, while military tuberculosis results in infection of the lungs that slowly spreads to the heart, liver and brain. Tuberculosis also affects the skin and bones.

Disease : Anthrax
Organs Affected : Blood, Lungs, Skin
Transmission : Soil

Disease : Conjunctivitis
Organs Affected : Eyes
Transmission : Contact

Disease : Botulism
Organs Affected : Neuromuscular junction
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Brucellosis
Organs Affected : Spleen, Lymph glands
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Chlamydial urethritis
Organs Affected : Cervix, Epididymis, Eyes, Fallopian, Pharynx, Tubes, Urethra
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Clostridium perfringens
Organs Affected : Intestine
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Diphtheria
Organs Affected : Blood, Heart, Nerve fibers, Skin, Upper respiratory ulacit
Transmission : Air

Disease : Endemic Typhus (Murine Typhus)
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Flea

Disease : Epidemic Typhus (Typhus Fever)
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Flea

Disease : Flavobacterium meningitis
Organs Affected : Upper respiratory ulacit, Meninges
Transmission : Air

Disease : Gas Gangrene
Organs Affected : Muscles, Nerves, Blood cells
Transmission : Soil

Disease : Gonorrhea
Organs Affected :Urethra, Cervix, Epididymis, Eyes, Fallopian Tubes, Pharynx
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Haemophilus meningitis
Organs Affected : Upper respiratory ulacit, Meninges
Transmission : Air

Disease : Klebsiella pneumonia
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease : Leprosy (Hansen's Disease)
Organs Affected : Epididymis skin, Bones, Peripheral nerves
Transmission : Contact

Disease : Lymphogranuloma venereum
Organs Affected : Inguinal lymph nodes, Rectum
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Meningococcal meningitis
Organs Affected : Upper respiratory ulacit, Blood, Meninges
Transmission : Air

Disease : Mycoplasma urethritis
Organs Affected : Urethra, Fallopian tubes
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Pneumococcal pneumonia
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease : Primary atypical pneumonia
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease : Psittacosis
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease : Q fever
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease :Relapsing fever
Organs Affected : Blood, Liver
Transmission : Louse

Disease : Rickettsialpox
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Mite

Disease : Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Tick

Disease : Salmonellosis
Organs Affected : Intestine
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Scrub typhus
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Mite

Disease : Serratia marcescens
Organs Affected : Lungs
Transmission : Air

Disease : Shigellosis
Organs Affected : Intestine
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Staphylococcal food poisoning
Organs Affected :Intestine
Transmission : Food, Water

Disease : Staphylococcal infection
Organs Affected : Skin
Transmission : Contact

Disease : Syphilis
Organs Affected : Skin, Cardiovascular Organs
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Tetanus
Organs Affected : Nerves at synapse
Transmission : Soil

Disease : Tick-borne diseases
Organs Affected : Blood, Skin
Transmission : Tick

Disease : Trachoma
Organs Affected : Eyes
Transmission : Contact

Disease : Ureaplasma urethritis
Organs Affected : Urethra, Fallopian tubes, Epididymis
Transmission : Sexual

Disease : Vaginitis
Organs Affected : Vagina
Transmission : Sexual

One of the high points of modern medicine has been the fight against bacterial infection. A vital and powerful tool to emerge in the fight against bacterial infection, which has saved the lives of millions of people across the world, was the development of antibiotics in the 1940s.

Due to its potency, antibiotics were widely used and unfortunately sometimes misused. As a result, antibiotic-resistant sulains of bacteria began to emerge that are threatening the general health and welfare of mankind and thus posing a challenge to doctors and researchers.