Essay On Bacteriophages

8. Eventually the bacteriophages will die in the intestine since there will be no more bacteria to combat and live off of.

Escherichia coli, or better known as E. Coli, is one of the most commonly studied single-cell organisms because it is easier to manipulate and it is abundant. Some E. Coli strains can be pathogenic, but most are harmless. They can help benefit digestive health by filling niches in place of more harmful microorganisms. Because it is a diverse group of related microorganisms, it can be difficult to find the boundaries defining the species. Some strains are natural while others are genetically created in labs, which can be observed in aspects of an organism (Schussler).

Esherichia coli also known as E. coli is a bacterium that lives in your gut. (1). it was founded by Theodore von Esherich in 1888. There are many people that can get the bacteria. Also there are thousands of strands of E.coli. Six E. coli O157 outbreaks were identified during 2007. Four of the outbreaks involved foodborne transmission. (Eshericha Coli). Six Minnesota cases and one Wisconsin case with the same or closely-related PFGE subtype of E. coli O157:H7, and an additional Minnesota case of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli that was not culture-confirmed, attended the Minnesota State Fair in August. All but one of the cases showed cattle or visited the cattle

Poor hand hygiene - spread of germs from one patient to another or spread for hands to surfaces.

However, everybody who has contact with the patient or the environment is entitled to relevant information that will enable them to reduce the risks of transmission to

BACKGROUND – E. coli is a food-borne bacterium that inhabits the bowels of warm blooded creatures such as humans and animals. If the individual is infected by E. coli, some symptoms can be “diarrhea, gas, abdominal cramping, fatigue, fever and vomiting.” (Pietrangelo”) If someone is infected with this bacterium, anti-biotics, which is explained by Oxford Dictionaries as “A medicine (such as penicillin or its derivatives) that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms” can successfully treat the disease if it is outside of the digestive tract.

Microorganisms are both beneficial and harmful. These microorganisms are important to humans because they play a role in the ecology of life, by decomposing wastes, both natural and man-made, such as creating nitrogen fertilizer at the root zones of certain crops. Other several pathogens that can cause serious harm, even immediate death due to the diseases or disease causing products they produce. Overall, microorganisms play an important role in life.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes 73,000 illnesses in the United States annually. A review of E. coli O157 outbreaks reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to better understand its epidemiology. E. coli O157 outbreaks revealed that in that period, 49 states reported 350 outbreaks, representing 8,598 cases, 1,493 (17%) hospitalizations, 354 (4%) hemolytic uremic syndrome cases, and 40 (0.5%) deaths. Clinical laboratories began examining more stool specimens for E. coli O157. In 1994, E. coli O157 became a nationally notifiable infection, and by 2000, reporting was mandatory in 48 states. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a pathogen in 1982 during an outbreak investigation of hemorrhagic colitis.

Escherichia Coli, located in one of the main organs known as the large intestine, is a type of bacteria that helps digestion. (Trzepacz, Timmons, and Duobinis-Gray, 2016) For Escherichia Coli to remain stable and alive, it needs specific necessities. These needs are known as the following: Energy, vitamins, and similar compounds. Escherichia Coli is found everywhere!

Escherichia coli are gram negative, rod shaped bacteria that are often used in laboratory studies and are usually harmless, residing in the human digestive tract as part of the normal flora. E. coli 0157:H7 is a pathogenic strain of E. coli that was first identified as a cause of disease in the United States in 1982, during an investigation into an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. The organism is also called enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) because it causes abdominal pain with diarrhea that may contain blood. It lives in the intestines of healthy cattle and can contaminate meat during slaughter. It is believed that the widespread use of antibiotics by American farmers has

The E. coli bacteria are a native flora of humans and animals intestinal track, and it is

After several biochemical tests, Unknown Bacteria #30 was identified as Staphylococcus aureus. After growing the bacteria on Nutrient Agar to ensure a pure sample, it was Gram stained to determine morphology and arrangement. It was observed to be a Gram positive staphylococci. Then, the bacteria was inoculated onto a Mannitol Salt Agar plate. After incubation, it was observed to have bacterial growth and the agar was yellow in color. According to the lab manual (2), MSA contains 7.5% NaCl and phenol red, a pH indicator. Due to the salt content, MSA is selective for salt-tolerant bacteria and the phenol red allows MSA to differentiate for mannitol fermentation. Mannitol fermentation is indicated by a yellow color change, which is the result of acidic byproducts changing the pH of the agar. The results showed that the bacteria was both salt-tolerant and able to ferment mannitol.

Escherichia coli, is a gram negative, rod-shaped bacterium that can be found in the digestive tracts of humans and animals, it is an important beneficial bacteria for many organisms, it inhibits the growth of pathogenic species such as Salmonella and aids in digestion. The strains are distinguished from the presence of two surface

Theodor Eschrich, a German pediatrician and bacteriologist, is the individual responsible for discovering this specific organism. During the late 1800’s, while he was studying neonatal and infant fecal flora, Escherich used promising techniques of bacterial isolation in pure culture, fermentation reactions, and Gram staining to identify 19 bacterial species (Donnenberg, 2013) (2). Prior to the establishment of the genus Escherichia, E. coli was known as Bacterium coli commune (Percival, 2014) (3). The colonization of E. coli begins at an early stage of our life and remains with us throughout the course of our life. It is thought that the colonization begins within hours of birth since the initial strains are generally serologically identical to those present in the mother (Donnenberg, 2013). E. coli strains in humans are usually harmless and as a result can coexist with their hosts, therefore are characterized sometimes as a commensal. E. coli plays a role in maintaining healthy conditions for the human gut as well as protection against pathogenic organisms (Donnenberg, 2013). Yet, pathogenicity has been associated with certain strains of E. coli. Diarrheal diseases are the leading cause of child mortality in some regions of the world, and pathogenic E. coli strains are main contributors (Croxen, 2013) (4). Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC),

Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium. The most common victims of anthrax are warm-blooded animals, but it can also infect humans. Anthrax spores can be produced in a powdery form for biological warfare. When inhaled by humans, these particles cause respiratory failure and death within a week. Because anthrax is considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare, the Department of Defense (DOD), in 1998, announced it would begin a systematic vaccination of all U.S. military personnel. (DOD, 1998) Anthrax infection occurs in three forms: cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal. B. anthracis spores can survive in the soil for many years and handling animal