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Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural Health (PEER)
Supported by the National Institutes of Health ORIP
Living With BugsDr. Ian Tizard
Director of Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center
Professor of Immunology and Pathobiology
*What is a Microbe?*Definition: A microbe is a
microscopic, single-celled organism. *Also called “germs” or “bugs”
*Microbes are everywhere!!!*They are on every surface
*What sort of microbes?
*Bacteria (Mainly) *Molds (Fungi)*Viruses
Colorful!
BACTERIUM
VIRUS
*Lets focus on bacteria*Bacteria are single celled
organisms*They feed on organic matter*They can survive for a long time and even grow on many surfaces*What surfaces?
Walls, floors, plants animals, clothes*How about body surfaces?
Bacteria on a Human Tongue(seen in a colored scanning electron micrograph)
GERMS CAUSE DISEASE
*…….but they are also essential if we are to survive!!!
OUR MICROBIOME
*Within us are:*Ten thousand bacterial species*Bacterial cells outnumber our own cells 10 to 1.*They weigh about 3 pounds – the same as our brain!
*The surfaces of your body
*The skin*The respiratory tract*The intestine
*ALL OF THESE SURFACES ARE INHABITED BY SPECIALIZED BACTERIAL POPULATIONS!
*Skin Microbe
s
*YOUR SKIN*Several hundred different bacterial species live there permanently*They differ between different skin sites*They cause your sweat or your feet to smell*Washing does not remove them*They protect you against other invaders*They do not invade your body (until you die!)
*A word about washing!
*Washing only removes the most superficial bacteria.*Many bacteria live deep in your skin
where they cannot be reached.*That is why surgeons wear gloves in
addition to washing their hands.*Hand washes do not completely sterilize
your skin
*Washing*Sunbathing*Disinfectants
Bacteria can penetrate and liveIn the upper layers of theskin as well as your sweat glands
I like sunbathin
g!
*YOUR INTESTINE
*Contains many billions of bacteria*There are more bacteria in your intestine than cells in your body*They help digest some foods*They provide some essential vitamins*They keep your defenses in tip-top condition*They control your weight*They influence the development of some diseases
*The Rumen
* Cecum of Horse“Blind Pouch”
Cecum
Small Intestine (Ileum) entering large intestineSmall Intestine-Duodenum
Large Intestine
*Your intestinal bacteria keep your
immune defenses in top condition
*They constantly stimulate the immune system.*They are needed for its proper
development.*In effect there is a constant conversation
between your intestinal bacteria and your immune system.*When an animal dies the intestinal
bacteria are free to invade the body!
*ALLERGIES?*Allergies and the hygiene hypothesis*Why do we have an “allergy epidemic”?*Because we are “too clean”*Some intestinal bacteria suppress allergies*Living on a farm reduces allergy problems
*The problem with antibiotics
*Antibiotics get rid of disease-causing germs – but cause collateral damage!*Antibiotics can change the microflora so
that obesity results*Antibiotics can change our gut flora so
that allergies develop.*By age 18, the average American child
will have received 10-20 courses of antibiotic treatment.
*OBESITY*The intestinal bacteria of fat people are different from those in skinny people!*Are the bacteria in obese people “more efficient” than those in skinny people?*“Cause or effect”
*OTHER DISEASES*Arthritis*Heart Disease*Tuberculosis*Other intestinal diseases*Diarrhea
Birds get
arthritis, too!
*Can we change our intestinal
microflora?*Probiotics are live bacteria that can colonize our intestines and promote health.*Yoghurt containing live Lactobacillus is a
great example of a probiotic.*The dose of bacteria eaten determine
whether their effect is long or short.
*Mouth and Teeth
*Commonplace Interaction
*Saliva has natural bacterial defenses*Teeth hygiene gets rid of bad germs
*Tooth decay*Systemic infection
We’re glad we
don’t have teeth!
*RESPIRATORY TRACT*Lots of bacteria up your nose
*Quite a few in your lungs as well*Maybe cause disease in some people*Chronic coughing or sneezing
He should cover his
mouth when he coughs!
*Sneezing or Coughing
A natural defense mechanism to remove foreign material including
mucus from your airways.
*IN SUMMARY!
We are covered with bacteria.They have the potential to do harm or good.We should consider ourselves to be, not isolated individuals but mixed colonies of creatures.
*The Superorganism
Our bodies together with our associated
bacteria working together for the
common good
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