Table of contents:
- Bad bacteria are few in number, but dangerous
- Various types of bad bacteria in our body
- 1. Clostridia
- 2. Streptococci
- 3. Staphylococci
- 4. Listeria and Bacilli
- 5. Bad bacteria in the intestine
- Where do bad bacteria come from?
Did you know that you have a lot of bacteria in your body? There are at least 100 trillion types and millions of bacteria in the body. These bacteria are found in the skin, digestive system, mouth, and several other parts of the body. However most of it lives in your digestive tract. The bad news is, not all bacteria in the body are good bacteria. So, how come there are bad bacteria in our bodies? Where did it come from?
Bad bacteria are few in number, but dangerous
You know that bacteria are also around us, whether it's in the air, water, soil, and everywhere. Therefore, it is very difficult to prevent bacteria from entering the mouth.
There are two types of bacteria, namely good bacteria and bad bacteria. Called bacteria because these types of bacteria have an important role in helping the digestive process and absorption of nutrients in the body. Meanwhile, bad bacteria are bacteria that are mostly obtained from outside the body and can cause infection.
Bacteria are the smallest living things on earth that can only be seen using a microscope. Fortunately, there are not too many types of bacteria that are harmful and bad for health. However, when the body is infected with bad bacteria, it can cause various diseases, even death.
Various types of bad bacteria in our body
Because there are so many bacteria in our environment, you cannot live without bacteria and you cannot avoid bacteria. Here are the types of bacteria that most often infect the body and cause various diseases.
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1. Clostridia
Some types of clostridia bacteria are not dangerous if they enter the body, but some can infect body tissues. For example, clostridium perfringes, which can cause tissue in the body to lack oxygen and food and then result in tissue death. Another with clostridium difficile which infects the digestive tract and causes diarrhea.
2. Streptococci
Most of the streptococci bacteria can infect the body and cause various health problems. For example, streptococcus pyogenes, which causes throat infections, meningitis and pneumonia. According to data from the Merck Manual of Medical information, streptococcus and clostridia are types of bacteria that can cause skin infections and various dead tissues.
3. Staphylococci
Staphylococci can also cause skin infections, such as boils, abscesses, and pustules. Apart from this the staphylococci bacteria can also infect bones, joints, and open wounds. However, there is also a harmless type of staphylococcus, namely staphylococcus epidermis, which usually lives on the surface of the skin. However, when these bacteria enter parts of the body, such as joints and the heart, it can cause bad effects.
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4. Listeria and Bacilli
Listeria monocytogenes is spread through foods such as cheese and contaminated meat. If a pregnant woman is infected with these bacteria, the baby she is carrying will automatically experience an infection due to the same bacteria. Basil bacteria are found in soil and water, while animals and insects are carriers of bacteria that can cause infections in humans. Some types of Bacillus can cause food poisoning, anthrax, and infect open sores on the skin.
5. Bad bacteria in the intestine
The digestive system is also the place where bacteria from outside are mostly overgrown. Bad bacteria that live in the intestines and then infect the intestines usually cause various symptoms such as decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fever, and blood in the stool. Various types of bacteria that can infect the intestine are yersinia, shigella which is found in water, salmonella which is found in eggs and meat, campylobacter which is found in meat and poultry, and E. coli which is found in raw foods.
Where do bad bacteria come from?
Bacteria can live and grow anywhere, and have various ways of spreading, namely:
- Through contaminated water, this method usually causes the spread of cholera and typhoid bacteria (typhus).
- Through food, the bacteria that are spread in this way are E.coli, botulism, salmonella.
- Sexual contact that can spread syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia bacteria.
- Make contact with animals
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Indeed, there are many things that can cause you to have bacteria growing on you, but the most common causes for the spread of these bad bacteria are contaminated food and poor personal hygiene.
Bacteria are easily spread through food, contact with contaminated objects, people or animals. Then after you touch the source of the bacteria you don't wash your hands and don't clean yourself. In fact, a study states that washing hands regularly using running water and soap is effective in preventing the spread of bacteria by 60% more than cleaning using alcohol.