Germs 101
A Mini-Course for Everyone
by
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Some germs spread through the air. They may spread like dust, as in the case of the anthrax spores. Other germs spread in a mist, like the spray cleaner you use on your windows. This form of spread is called air droplet. When you cough, sneeze or just talk, you produce a fine mist composed of the moisture in your mouth and any stray bacteria or viruses that might be in your mouth. Cold and flu virus, smallpox virus and the bacterium that causes strep throat are examples of the germs that spread as droplets. Other germs are spread by direct contact with something that is contaminated with the germ. Examples are hepatitis and AIDS, that are spread by direct contact with blood, body fluids or hypodermic needles that are contaminated with the germs. Many germs that cause diarrhea or other intestinal distress are spread by direct contact with feces, or sewage contaminated food or water. Eating or drinking contaminated food and water is another form of direct contact. Wound infections can be spread by direct contact with used bandages. Sexually transmitted diseases are also spread by direct contact with someone who is already infected with the disease. Tetanus can be acquired by direct contact with something that causes a puncture wound. A special type of direct contact is the nosocomial infection, in which germs are transmitted from contaminated medical equipment to the patient. Insects can spread germs. Malaria, Western Equine Encephalitis, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Fever are examples of diseases that are spread by mosquitoes. Typhus and plague are spread by fleas. Colorado Tick Fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease are spread by ticks. Plague may also be spread by droplets when it takes the pneumonic form (pneumonia). Spread of disease by insects is called an insect vector. Insects and animals can also spread germs, simply by transporting them from one place to another. An example of this is when a fly lands on dog feces, then lands on food. Germs are transported on the fly’s feet. Another example is when a cat scratches in a litter box, then walks around on the kitchen counters. Some germs can be spread from the mother to the fetus across the placenta. AIDS is an example of this kind of spread of disease. This type of spread is referred to as vertical or trans-placental. The ways disease spreads listed above are referred to as horizontal. Try this at home or in your classroom
Shaking hands with your next cold: to demonstrate how far a cold virus can spread. You’ll need a bowl of water and a dozen or more people. The steps are: 1. Have the people line up 2. the first person will dip his right hand into the bowl of water. 3. Without shaking off the water, person #1 shakes hands with person #2, which wets person #2's hand. 4. Person #2 then shakes hands with person #3, wetting person #3’s hand and so on down the line until the water is no longer passed to the next person. The water represents the cold virus that would be on a person’s hand if he used the palm of his hand to block a sneeze. Everyone whose hand got wet would represent someone who was infected with the cold virus. Depending on how fast the water evaporated, six or more people’s hands got wet in this demonstration. If you go to work with a cold, you may infect six or more people with your cold virus.
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About the Book
A character in a popular television drama series
made a statement about the use of “botulism virus” against Fidel Castro. An investigative reporter with a network
affiliate station in Denver did a report about Iraq having “deadly anthrax
virus” in its arsenal of biological weapons.
A report that canola oil in animal feed causes “Mad Cow” disease
circulated via email. The author of a
romance novel created a main character who was a virologist, then had the
virologist working with Anthrax in her lab.
What do the purveyors of these gems of information
all have in common? Every one of them
is WRONG.
How will you know when you’re receiving incorrect
information? You could embark on a
program of study of biology, chemistry, and microbiology at the nearest
college.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to become
a microbiologist, you can read this book.
This book covers what everyone needs to know about germs, such as how to
kill them and what diseases they cause, without requiring a background in
biology. Anyone can read this book.
This book will teach you about germs--how they
spread, diseases they cause and how you can kill them.
About the Author
Darralyn McCall earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Microbiology from the University of Wyoming. As a graduate student, she taught lab classes in General Microbiology and Pathogenic Microbiology. After graduation she worked as an ethylene oxide sterilizer operator and a Quality Control technician where she performed sterility tests, pyrogen tests and incoming manufacturing material testing. She is currently a scientific and technical writer and editor. She was the co-author of Blackwell Science, Inc.’s 11th Hour Series: Introduction to Microbiology and Porphyrin Utilization by Bacteroides ruminicola, published in the Journal of Bacteriology and developed and wrote many QC test procedures for in-house use. She has done technical editing on numerous books for SYBEX and Macmillan Computer Publishing.