information about harmful microorganisms
Answers
Answer:
Except for genetic and congenital factors, most of the diseases are caused by certain microorganisms. These microbes are called pathogens. They are specially adapted to infect and multiply within a host. Some diseases caused by pathogens are polio, cholera, mumps, rabies, malaria etc.
Some microorganisms need a carrier to transmit diseases. Here, Anopheles mosquitoes are the carriers used by the protozoan Plasmodium vivax to transmit the disease to the host. Once inside the host, the Plasmodium starts destroying red blood cells. This leads to other complications such as anaemia and hypoxemia.
Other microbes directly enter the body through contaminated food, water, air or even just a small cut on your skin. The bacteria, A Streptococcus can enter your skin through an open wound. However, this bacteria is found in most people’s throat and are relatively harmless. But sometimes, the infection can be so severe that it can start eating living flesh and tissue. That’s why it’s also called “Flesh-eating bacteria” or “Necrotizing fasciitis.”
Answer:
A microorganism, or microbe,[a] is a microscopic organism, which may exist in its single-celled form or in a colony of cells.
The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from ancient times, such as in Jain scriptures from 6th century BC India and the 1st century BC book On Agriculture by Marcus Terentius Varro. Microbiology, the scientific study of microorganisms, began with their observation under the microscope in the 1670s by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. In the 1850s, Louis Pasteur found that microorganisms caused food spoilage, debunking the theory of spontaneous generation. In the 1880s, Robert Koch discovered that microorganisms caused the diseases tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax.
Microorganisms include all unicellular organisms and so are extremely diverse. Of the three domains of life identified by Carl Woese, all of the Archaea and Bacteria are microorganisms. These were previously grouped together in the two domain system as Prokaryotes, the other being the eukaryotes. The third domain Eukaryota includes all multicellular organisms and many unicellular protists and protozoans. Some protists are related to animals and some to green plants. Many of the multicellular organisms are microscopic, namely micro-animals, some fungi and some algae, but these are not discussed here.
They live in almost every habitat from the poles to the equator, deserts, geysers, rocks and the deep sea. Some are adapted to extremes such as very hot or very cold conditions, others to high pressure and a few such as Deinococcus radiodurans to high radiation environments. Microorganisms also make up the microbiota found in and on all multicellular organisms. A December 2017 report stated that 3.45-billion-year-old Australian rocks once contained microorganisms, the earliest direct evidence of life on Earth.[1][2]
Microbes are important in human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods, treat sewage, produce fuel, enzymes and other bioactive compounds. They are essential tools in biology as model organisms and have been put to use in biological warfare and bioterrorism. They are a vital component of fertile soils. In the human body microorganisms make up the human microbiota including the essential gut flora. They are the pathogens responsible for many infectious diseases and as such are the target of hygiene measures.