Bacterial Diseases

Learning about the bacteria and the cause of their outbreak can prevent it from spreading further. Before discussing what a bacterial disease is, we require a brief idea about what is a bacterium, its habitat and how to control it. A bacterial disease is the illness that is caused by the harmful bacteria.

Bacteria are single cell microscopic organisms present all around us. Bacteria are not always harmful; some of the bacteria even help us live a healthy life. These are found on the skin surface, genitals and inside the intestine in a living animal.

The good bacteria present in our skin clean the waste materials produced with sweat. This prevents normal skin infections. The bacteria occupying the inner lining of the intestine help the food molecules break in to smaller parts and let the body absorb essential nutrients.

When harmful foreign bacteria attacks the healthy bacteria and overcrowd them by rapidly reproducing, an infection or disease is born. Not all diseases are fatal to humans but some of the diseases like meningitis, cholera, sepsis, pneumonia can claim innocent lives.

To fight a disease we have to learn the cause of its origin and the environment that suits for its growth. This helps to curb the disease outbreak and minimizes further spreading and infections.

Meningitis is a condition where the bacterial attack is targeted to the brain and spinal cord by invading its protective cover. The patient suffering from bacterial meningitis has an acute response to light and loud noise, stiffness in neck is felt with severe headache.

There are three types of bacteria responsible to cause meningitis, such as Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza type b and Neustria meningitides. Most bacterial meningitis can be treated with antibiotics and vaccinations are very helpful to combat acute cases of bacterial outbreaks in meningitis.

Haemophilus influenza type b or Hib was very common type of meningitis that claimed so many lives, but regular vaccines administered to children has dropped down the cases of occurrence. Now Streptococcus pneumonia is the most common culprit of meningitis and Neustria meningitides is following it.

The symptoms of meningitis vary between small children and grownups.

The common symptoms seen in a patient with meningitis are;

1. Change or loss of consciousness.
2. Severe headache.
3. Feel unusual stiffness in the neck.
4. Lethargy to do anything.
5. Acute sensitivity to light.
6. Confusion to think anything.
7. High fever above 101degree Fahrenheit.
8. Small kids feel unexpected irritations.
9. Rashes.

Severe cases show some very specific symptoms like change in behavioral patterns of the person, seizure, hallucination and sudden dizziness.

Treating bacterial meningitis is possible but the precautions taken in avoiding it is the best practice. Useful vaccines are now available to prevent the main three disease causing factors of bacterial meningitis. Early diagnosis can successfully reduce the damages and prevent spreading the bacteria to some more people.

The complications involved in meningitis are too dangerous as it can make the patient suffer lifelong impairments of some vital body parts. Elderly people have a weak immune system and are very prone to bacterial infections and diseases and infants have a developing immune system that can’t be fully functional. So they are the easy targets of risks involved in bacterial meningitis, which in some cases claim their lives.

A patient can face brain damage due to meningitis bacteria, may lose vision with the hearing power. Rapid heart rate can cause a heart stroke and the prolonged unconsciousness may even slip him to coma. Sometimes the bacteria can infect the blood and create a fatal condition called sepsis, where the patient’s life is in danger.

Bacterial diseases are transmitted rapidly through various mediums, so when a patient is diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, complete care is taken to prevent it from spreading. Few other bacteria responsible to spread this disease are Escherichia Coli, Lysteria monocytogens, Micobacterium tuberculosis and group B streptococci.

Meningitis is a very contagious disease and it can spread to people in close contact with an infected person. It can pass through sharing food in a utensil to eat, handshakes and by kissing someone carrying the bacteria in them. It can even contaminate the air by releasing the bacteria with sneezing, cough, laugh or while speaking and travel from the sick person to a healthy companion. Bacterial meningitis can infect the blood and affect the ear and sinuses, which becomes a very critical situation to treat.

Closed confines make it easy to spread between people along with the constant contact between people. Daycare centers and schools are very vulnerable places if there is a possible outbreak of meningitis in that place.

The factors that accelerate spreading meningitis are;

Weak immunity system in a person

• Being in close contact with a meningitis patient
• Working or attending school or daycare
• Exposure to rodents, mosquitoes and flies that carry the disease causing bacteria with them
• No vaccination to prevent the disease
• Infection in the middle ear
• Sinusitis
• Maintaining unhygienic health habits like infrequent washing of hands

All the above can cause fatal attacks of meningitis and everybody should take proper care to maintain hygiene and stay healthy.

Some healthy habits can save your life from meningitis and its other bacterial counterparts. Here are some precautions aimed at safeguarding you and your family from the deadly bacterial meningitis;

1. Every family member should get the vaccinations against the 3 major causes that aggravate bacterial meningitis.
2. Avoid insects that bite and spread diseases, like the mosquito.
3. After touching a meningitis patients hands must be washed properly to prevent the infection spread further.
4. In case you suffer from ear infection or bacterial sinusitis treatment should be done immediately.

Being a contagious disease bacterial infections are widely spread in the atmosphere and can affect its victim who has a low immune system.  Bacteria can affect the skin cells and cause skin infections and rashes, but for some critical situations it can even claim the affected person’s life.

Bacterial disease is very commonly found in one form or the other. To deal with some of the minor bacteria borne diseases require less knowledge than Doctor. Skin infections are the minor diseases caused by bacteria, whereas dangerous ones like tuberculosis and bubonic plague can claim around 2 out of 3 lives of infected persons within a period of 4 days. Bacteria are everywhere around us, but due to their single celled microscopic structure we can see them through a microscope only.

Surface of the skin, the intestinal walls and genitals are the home for millions of bacteria. Poor sanitary conditions accelerate the bacterial outbreak and cause really dangerous diseases like cholera.

There are basically two types of bacteria as per their role;

• The disease causing bacteria or the pathogens.
• The healthy bacteria or the probiotic like the Lactobacillus.

There is a variety of bacteria born diseases but some classifications are made to properly categorize the types of bacterial disease.

Pathogenic bacteria cause infections and diseases in a living body. These bacteria mainly attack the healthy bacteria by multiplying and reproducing at a fast pace. The harmful bacteria normally grow over vestigial organs. They discharge toxins that destroy the living cells and spread infections with disease.

Following are some major types of bacterial diseases that disrupt the normal living conditions;

1. Neisseria gonorrhea is responsible to a sexually transmitted disease called gonorrhea.
2. Salmonella and Escheria coli cause food poisoning overpowering the intestinal bacteria.
3. Neisseria meningitides is responsible to spread meningitis.
4. Helicobacter pylori cause ulcers with gastritis.
5. A streptococcal bacterium is responsible in spreading infections in the body mainly the ear infection and diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, strep throat are the other dangerous outbreaks.
6. Staphylococcus aureus cause multiple diseases ranging from boils, cellulitis, infections of wounds and pneumonia to toxic shock syndrome along with food poisoning in the body.

There are thousands of bacteria floating in the air and water, which can harm our immune system but due to the friendly bacteria present in our body we naturally resist most of them. Depending upon the health condition and age, resistance to bacteria borne diseases vary in humans. Elderly people and infants are very susceptible to bacterial and viral infections as their immune system is not fully functional to prevent the bad bacteria from entering their body.

The bacteria present on the skin help to prevent skin inflammations by eating up the harmful bacteria attracted by the sweat produced, whereas the intestinal bacteria digest the food and help the body absorb nutrients.

Bacterial diseases are born due to so many reasons and are very painful. Bacterial outbreaks occur usually under unhygienic health conditions and even the affected persons are responsible to spread it further. Diseases like cholera are water born bacterial substances that spread through the fecal materials of an infected person with the help of rodents and flies.

Diseases like meningitis are life threatening as the bacteria attacks the protective cover of the brain and spinal cord and can cause extensive problem to the patient.

Meningitis comprises so many symptoms like vomiting, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity that forces the patient to stay away from bright light and loud sound, fever, severe headache are some common signs. Here the blood pressure of the patient may fall rapidly and lead to adverse health conditions.

Food poisoning normally occurs due to a bacterium called Salmonella and Escheria coli, where the patient’s conditions deteriorate due to vomiting, fever and severe stomachache. Without proper treatment it can severe the condition of a patient in a short span of time.

Bacterial diseases and its treatment should be taken very seriously as these diseases can prove lethal if the diagnosis is not done at an early stage.

Treatment of bacterial diseases is prescribed by the medical practitioners according to the age and health condition of the person. Antibiotics are the common medication for most minor bacteria that cause infections.  Antibiotics kill the disease causing bacteria or reduce the reproduction to stop them spreading further.

Normally antibiotics are taken orally but as per the severity of the case can be injected to the muscular tissues or through intravenous method. Although antibiotics are the most common options, they kill some of the good bacteria like the gut flora present in our intestine.

For the best treatment in bacteria born diseases a medical expert recommends;

• Complete hygiene
• Proper rest
• Good nutrition
• Complications need direct medical attention by admitting the patient for intensive care.
• Fluid intakes must be increased to prevent dehydration.

Some people have a natural resistance to antibiotics, which makes bacterial disease treatment a far complicated process.  The patient may die with the disease or slip into coma. A serious condition called sepsis even infects the blood and affects all the body parts.

All the bacteria don’t respond to the antibiotics so at critical situations bacteriophages are used for treatments. This therapy is known as Phage therapy which is approved only in Georgia.

In this bacteriophage therapy the phages inject their genome to the targeted bacteria and kill it, preventing the good bacteria get killed in the process. The phage therapy can target only a certain kind of bacteria, using various patches of bacteriophase can help to combat multiple types of bacteria.

Phages can be taken in the form of freeze dried pills, in liquid form orally or can even be applied over the affected part of body through the gauges covering it.

Treating any bacteria borne disease needs proper knowledge of the way it spreads. It can stop the disease from spreading to the people in direct contact with the patient. They too need to have a diagnosis to make sure the disease has not invaded another body.

The patient should be kept under a clean and hygienic environment with proper medication and complete rest. Adequate amount of liquid must be included in the diet plan with a healthy nutrition. Immediate medical attention has to be administered to prevent further damage in case of fatal diseases like meningitis and cholera that can claim the patient’s life.

Prevention is better than cure, so every individual must learn physical hygiene and keep their environment healthy. Food and beverages   are to be consumed from well known sources to avoid any infections or outbreaks of disease.