microorganisms in relation to human health: chapter 1

• WHAT ARE MICRO-ORGANISMS?

  %%Microorganisms are organisms of microscopic size, which may exist in their single-celled form or as a colony of cells%%

  we have bacteria, fungi, protozoa (single-celled eukaryotes) and single-celled Algae. Little multicellular organisms like nematodes and flatworms.

  • ==Viruses aren’t living organisms== → no independent reproduction, no metabolism. (They are studied in microbiology so we will also see the viral infection in one of the next chapters.)

  -side note- A lot of them use warm-blooded animals like a human as habitat → symbiosis

  • %%symbiosis%% %%= long-term biological interaction between two different organisms%%

  • %%commensalism:%% %%only the micro-organism gets the advantage%%

    example: bacteria on our skin that doesn’t bother us. They find organic substances and can live at a constant temperature.

  • %%mutualism:%% %%both the human and the microorganism get an advantage%%

    For example: intestinal bacteria take nutrients from our intestines and produce vitamin K for the human → essential for blood clotting

  • %%parasitism:%% %%the micro-organism gets the advantage and the human gets the disadvantage%% example: a cold virus causes an inflammation of the nasal mucosa resulting in an overproduction of nasal mucus

• TERMINOLOGY

  • %%Contamination%% = when someone comes into contact with a pathogen, one speaks of contamination. A disease is called contagious if it can be transmitted by one microorganism to another carrier.
  • %%Infection%% = if the microorganism begins to multiply and thereby damages the tissue, you speak of an infection. An infection can result in an inflammation, a reaction of the body
  • %%Incubation period%% = the incubation period is the time between contamination and the first symptoms (noticeable signs of disease)
  • %%Epidemic%% = if many people have an infectious disease at the same time, you speak of an epidemic. For some infectious diseases, there is a reporting obligation to prevent epidemics
  • %%Pandemic%% = a worldwide epidemic
  • It is a new disease within the population
  • It infects people and causes serious complaints
  • A simple spread of said disease

\
\
\
\
\