Before we understand what pathogenic bacteria are and the role they play, let’s first take a quick look at what bacteria in general. Bacteria are present everywhere, in air, food, water and soil. They are even found inside our body. Various strains of bacteria have been identified by microbiologists and they have documented that not all strains of bacteria are harmful; some of the strains are even beneficial to our body.
However, the bacteria that we are discussing about are the harmful ones- known as the pathogenic bacteria. The bacteria gain entry into our body through open wounds by consumption of food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. In this case, if the individual has a strong immune system then he can easily fight against the infection; but if an individual has a weak immunity then he is easily susceptible to infection.
Bacteria cannot be seen with the naked eye. It can only be seen with the help of a microscope. Microscope is an instrument to see those objects which are too small for naked eye.
Pathogenic bacteria can cause infectious diseases in humans, animals and in plants as well. They have an unique characteristic known as the ‘host specificity’; this characteristic enables them to cause illness to a single host or multiple hosts. Pathogenic bacteria cause multiple infectious diseases that include food poisoning, tooth ache, anthrax and even some forms of cancer. Some of the examples of pathogenic bacteria are: Bacillus anthracis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium tetani, Bordetella pertussis, Campylobacter jejuni, Chlamydia pneumoniae:, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli:, Haemophilus influenza, Leptospira interrogans: Mycobacterium leprae:, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
These cause many diseases such as pneumonia, leprosy, tuberculosis, diarrhea, UTI, influenza, leptospirosis, diphtheria, anthrx, trachoma, botulism, infection of the bowel, pertusis as well as tetanus.
In all there are three categories of bacterial pathogens; obligate pathogens, opportunistic pathogens and accidental pathogens.
Obligate pathogens are those that must cause a disease in order to be transmitted from one host to another. Examples of such bacteria are Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Treponema Pallidum.
Opportunistic pathogens are those that can be transmitted from one host to another without causing the disease. However, if the host has a weak immune system then the bacteria can cause the infection. Vibrio Cholera and Psedomonas aeruginosa are some of the examples of opportunistic pathogens.
The third category of bacterial pathogens is the accidental ones, wherein the bacteria can cause the disease only accidently. This limits the spread of the disease from one person to another. Some examples of this type of bacteria are Neisseria meningitides and Bacteoides fragilis.
In order to prevent yourself from these pathogens, it is advisable to keep your surroundings clean and have good personal hygiene. Avoid food at road side as there are more chances of food getting contaminated with harmful bacteria.
