What Are Infectious Diseases Bacterial

About infectious bacterial diseases

Introduction

Bacterias are living things that have only one cell and can only be seen under a microscope. Most bacteria do not hurt people and in fact some of them are used in making healthy foods such as cheese and yogurt. Infectious bacterial diseases are illnesses that are caused by bacteria. The harmful bacteria that cause diseases and infections are known as pathogenic bacteria. Infectious bacterial diseases occur when the pathogenic bacteria enter the body and begin to multiply such that they crowd out the healthy bacteria and grow in the sterile tissues. Harmful bacteria also emit toxins that harm the body.

Common types of infectious bacterial diseases

The infectious bacterial diseases are divided into three main categories that are listed below;
Gastrointestinal infections
these infections are caused by pathogenic bacteria like the; Campylobacter species, salmonella, shigella, and E. coli O157:H7. These infections are mainly characterized by diarrhea that sometimes leads to death.

• Campylobacter jejuni: this is the most common cause of diarrhea due to bacterial infections. It is transmitted by consuming contaminated food, water and contact with infected animals like cats and puppies.
• Salmonella: this is also a common cause of bacterial diarrhea. Pregnant women, children, people with a compromised immune system and the elderly are at a higher risk of being attacked by this bacteria. It is transmitted through exposure to contaminated food especially eggs, water and contact with infected animals like the reptiles.
• Shigella: it leads to watery and bloody diarrhea that is accompanied by abdominal pain, fever and malaise.

Respiratory infections

• Upper respiratory tract infections: they are caused by a common bacteria known as Haemophilus influenzae.
• Lower respiratory tract infections: this include acute, chronic and health care related pneumonia and bronchitis. It is mainly caused by S. pneumonia that attacks both the healthy and immunocompromised people.
• Otitis media: it affects the middle ear in children and it is caused by S. pneumoniae.
• Tuberculosis (TB): it is prevalent in the overcrowded areas and to HIV positive people. Its progress depends on the patient nutritional status.

Skin infections
the main skin infections include; impetigo, boils, carbuncles, cellulitis, and complications from burns. Skin infections are mainly caused by bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, group A streptococci, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Infections that are caused by A streptococci can lead to severe kidney inflammation that can result to kidney failure.

 

Risk factors

Infectious bacterial diseases can attack at any time but there are some factors that increase the risk of contracting these diseases. These risk factors are listed below.

• Eating undercooked eggs and meat
• Being an infant and of old age
• Having chronic and immune suppressing diseases
• Malnutrition
• Eating expired food or food that has been stored poorly for more than two days
• Having a compromised immune body system due to conditions like HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, cancer or diabetes
• Having a genetic predisposition to infectious bacterial diseases
• Exposure to a person or animal that has infectious bacterial diseases
• Not washing hands after using the bathrooms and handling food that is contaminated by bacteria

 

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