Pathogens: Bacteria and Staphlococcus Aureus Essay

Submitted By buckojones691
Words: 577
Pages: 3

Microbiology:MIC100

21 July 2013

Introduction In this Session Long Project I am going to discuss a pathogenic which is Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a nonpathogenic microorganism which is Staphylococcus aureus. Bacteria live nearly everywhere; they are so common that bacteria in your body actually outnumber your cells by a factor of ten to one. Bacteria can be found on the body, without causing disease, or it can be overwhelming to the body and cause death.
Pathogenic Microorganism I chose to discuss Mycobacterium tuberculosis because it is a very interesting type of pathogenic organism that can spread easily through being near someone with the active infection and it can eventually result in serious illness or death. The niche is unknown. The bacteria in infected people are commonly found in the lungs. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a bacterium that is spread through respiratory droplets and can cause people to develop tuberculosis (TB). For instance, when I was in …. we were told to wear protective gear when we met the local people because TB was common in third world countries. Bacteria that can cause tuberculosis can be expelled by someone with active TB sneezing, coughing, talking, or singing (Hackley, Kriebs, Rousseau, 2007). Factors that increase the likelihood of becoming infected with M. tuberculosis include the quantity of organisms into the air, the concentration of bacteria compared to the space and amount of ventilation, immune status, and length of exposure to the infected area. People at higher risk for exposure of tuberculosis include: people born in nations with high incidence of TB such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Caribbean; people with contact to someone with TB, people residing in long-term care facilities, correctional facilities or group settings; and health care staff or employees of these “high-risk facilities.”
Non-pathogenic Microorganism For the non-pathogenic microorganism I chose Staphlococcus aureus because it is an exciting organism due to it being normally found on the skin or if the skin is broken it can result in infection. So, the niches include skin, soft tissue, respiratory and gastrointestinal normal flora. In small amounts, bacteria is basically harmless to the host, however, under certain host conditions, such as break in skin, S. aureus may