Pathogens – The Building Blocks of Contagions

What is the makeup of human disease?

Pathogens are described as the first link in the chain of infection, or disease producers.  It usually refers to infectious organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. There are many categories for these producers. Most bacteria are harmless. Some, such as the live bacteria used in yogurt, can be considered beneficial. Pathogenic bacteria cause infectious diseases. Diseases that are considered worldwide epidemics include pneumonia, streptococcus and food borne illness, such as Salmonella and Shigella. Other common infections are tetanus, leprosy, typhoid fever and diphtheria. Conditionally pathogenic organisms cause skin infections and inflammatory responses, such as meningitis.
Intracellular pathogens are only visible through a microscope. Examples include typhus and urinary tract infections. Pathogenic viruses cause smallpox, measles, chickenpox, and Ebola. Virulence is defined as the ability to cause a disease. The stronger the virus is, the more virulent it is considered. The body is able to protect itself from many of these diseases, regardless of the type. However, the longer an infection can survive outside a human host, the stronger it is. The bacterium that is thought to have caused the Black Plague was particularly strong. HIV is on a similar scale of severity.

HIV is just a virus

Salmonella

One of the more common ways for pathogens to find their way into a human body is through contaminated food and water. People who eat the food, or drink the water become infected. Once the infection grows, it spreads rapidly from one person to the next. This happens frequently in developing countries, due to their inability to prevent sewage from seeping into the drinker water supply or cropland.  There are few regulations for food safety in many of these countries. Advances in medical technology have made it possible to defend against many forms of these viruses through the use of vaccinations, antibiotics and fungicides.
Requirements for food safety, hygiene and water treatment methods have reduced food borne viruses in

c-Diff

industrialized countries. There are several ways for water to be treated commercially to reduce the number of pathogens. Treatment plants use a variety of methods to ensure successful purification. Sand and charcoal are frequently used to filter the water in the first stages. Disinfecting water includes using chemicals, such as chlorine. Ultraviolet light has also proven effective. Colloidal silver, when mixed with water, has proven to successfully remove bacteria and is frequently used by consumers. For more information on how colloidal silver can be an effective deterrent for bacterial and viral infections, visit www.nutrasilver.com