Examination of Bacterial Infections - Essay Example

Infections Lecturer Affiliation Due A keen examination of bacterial infections will provide facts concerning the conditions necessary to spread an infection, the nature of a potential host and the modes of pathogen transmission. According to Pinto et al. (2014), the three elements necessary to spread an infection include; a source of infecting micro-organisms, mode of micro-organism transmission and a susceptible host. The source of infecting microorganisms generates the pathogens that infect the susceptible host through certain means of transmission that might involve fluid transmission, contamination or even direct contact.

Therefore, an infection can be prevented through eliminating at least one of the three elements. A susceptible host is the one who has little resistance against a certain organism, therefore, when exposed to it, he or she is likely to contract a disease. A potential host can be made susceptible by factors such as; age, immunity or physical conditions. Certain bacteria have a natural affinity for persons of certain age groups. The very young and the very old persons are generally more susceptible to diseases compared to the older children and young adults.

In addition, low immunity can make a potential host susceptible to an infection. For instance, persons who have never been exposed to an infectious organism might not develop acquired natural immunity against it hence being more susceptible compared to the ones who have been exposed to it before. Nevertheless, physical conditions such as exposure to elements, malnutrition, and extreme fatigue can weaken the resistance to pathogenic invasions hence making the host susceptible. There are three primary modes of pathogen transmission that include; vehicle transmission, vector transmission and contact transmission.

Vehicle transmission is whereby an object carries the disease-causing microorganism to the host. On the other hand, vector transmission involves organisms such as insects that transmit the pathogens to the hosts while contact transmission occurs when the microbe touches the body of the host; either directly or indirectly (Parker and Stevens, 2015). Scientists have used and cultured different environmental sites in testing for the presence of fomite microbial contamination including; hospital elevators, banks, households, public buses, public telephones, ATMs, coffee shops and hospital toilets.

In hospitals, the places that were frequently touched by patients and other users were tested for the presence of pathogens. The scientist focused on testing for fomite microbial contamination on elevator buttons in hospitals. Several bank notes were also tested to detect any form of microbial contamination. Public telephone handles and hospital toilet surfaces were exposed to the same tests for microbial contamination. In addition, ATM machine buttons, toys used in households, and fare box and driver’s compartment in public buses were tested for microbial contamination.

It was found out that 61% of the tested elevator buttons were contaminated with microbial (at 95% confidence interval). Among the hospital toilets tested, only 43% of them tested positive. The metallic surfaces of ATMs showed microbial contamination as follows; 50 % Staphylococcus aureus 9, 16.7% Escherichia coli 3 and 33.3% Klebsiella species 6. 73.3% Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated in 44 out of the 60 tested public telephones. In a total of 137 existing toys from 89 households, there was 53% prevalence of E.

coli and 77% Total Coliform. 30% of 120 cups used in a coffee shop tested positive in microbial contamination. Nevertheless, 95% of hand-touch surfaces in public buses tested positive for microbial contamination while 100% of 240 bank notes tested positive for bacteria contamination (Williams et al., 2015). The most common bacteria species noticed during the test were Escherichia, Staphylococcus and Proteus. Unlike the expected results, the surfaces that seem to be outwardly hygienic showed more bacteria prevalence than the others.

For instance, it was expected that the hospital elevator buttons would have lower bacteria prevalence than the hospital toilet surfaces unlike the actual results which were exactly the opposite. Conclusion Bacterial infection requires three necessary elements that include; a source of infecting micro-organisms, a mode of transmission and a susceptible host. The primary modes of pathogen transmission include; vehicle transmission, vector transmission and contact transmission. The pathogens can be transmitted within several environmental sites such as; hospital toilets, hospital elevator buttons, public telephones, public buses, ATMs, banks, households, and even coffee shops.

References Parker, J. and Stevens, D. (2015). Spread and Prevention of Some Common Bacterial Infections in Community Facilities and Domestic Homes. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 91 (10): 7-21. Pinto et al. (2014). Potential Role of Fomites in Vehicular Transmission. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 67 (15): 3904-3907. Williams et al. (2015). Bacterial Contamination of Paper Currency. Southern Medical Journal, 95 (12): 1408-1410.