Bacterial Diseases

We often associate bacteria with disease, but they are not all harmful. In fact, many bacteria are actually beneficial to us. For example, trillions of bacteria live in our gut and help us to digest food. However, bacterial pathogens infect both plants and animals, which causes disease.

  • Unlike viral diseases, bacterial diseases can be treated or prevented with antibiotics

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of bacteria, some species of which can cause illness in the intestinal tract of animals and humans.

SymptomsHow it spreadsTreatment and prevention
• Fever

• Abdominal cramps


• Vomiting


• Diarrhoea
Salmonella food poisoning is mainly caused by ingesting (eating) food that is not cooked properly

It can also be found in uncooked eggs or products containing them
• Vaccinating poultry, such as chickens

Keeping raw meat away from cooked food


• Washing hands and surfaces before and after handling raw meat


• Cooking food thoroughly
 

Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

SymptomsHow it spreadsTreatment and prevention
• Thick yellow or green discharge from the penis or the vagina

• Pain when urinating


• Can cause women to bleed between periods

• In some men and women, the disease is asymptomatic
Gonorrhoea spreads through direct sexual contact• Using condoms, which act as a barrier method

• Can be treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria before they pass it on to another person. However, many strains are resistant to penicillin, which is the most commonly used antibiotic