Bacteria and Viruses
Excerpts from previous naturopathy assignments HLT60512. Bacteria and Viruses
Airborne transmission of virus and bacteria can occur when a person sneezes or coughs; foodborne transmission occurs when food is stored in unsafe conditions. A reservoir is the source of an infectious agent, e.g. people, animals, insects, soil or water can harbour virus and bacteria. Ting states: ‘excretions and secretions non-intact skin (e.g., draining wounds), respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, mucous membranes, can provide routes of transmission.
Treatment is in prevention, such as washing hands, covering mouth and nose when sneezing, and keeping food stored safely. Managing infection via hydration, nutrition, herbs, and rest allows the healing process. Antibiotics or antivirals might be required where infections require medical intervention (Ting, 2012).
Viruses need host cells to survive and bacteria doesn’t. Nucleic acid genomes surrounded a protein capsid encased in lipid membrane envelope, or just a capsid are found in Viruses. The prognosis of enveloped viruses is that it remains in the body for life, an example is the Epstein Barr virus. Non enveloped virus are responsible for ‘cold and flu’s’ which normally run their course in 7 days or so and can’t be eliminated with antibiotics.
Bacteria contain a cell membrane of peptidoglycans and have no organelles. Bacterial infections are capable of causing illness or death, an example is streptococcus causing strep throat and rheumatic fever, however antibiotics and other medical interventions might stop its progress, and normal healing occurs within 7-15 days. See appendix. 5 for more general information.
Table 1. General research Bacteria and Virus
| Bacteria (Silhavy, Kahne, & Wal, 2010) | ||
| Physiology | Morphology | Features |
| Contain ribosomes and synthesise their own DNA, RNA and proteins.
Reliant on their host or environment for favourable growth conditions. |
spherical (cocci), rod-shaped (bacilli) or spiral (spirochetes) | motile with flagella enabling them to move or Pili attached to host cell of extracellular matrix (ECM) A single circular chromosome
Prokaryotic (no nucleus) Ribosomes A rigid cell wall (gives bacteria a defined shape) Pili (used for DNA exchange by conjugation) Reproduction by binary fission (mitosis) gram staining negative or positive Capsid Host cell, environment, or ECM |
| Virus (Gelderblom, 1996) | ||
| Physiology | Morphology | Features |
| Simplest virions consist of two components: nucleic acid (single- or double-stranded RNA or DNA)
Capsid proteins are coded for by the virus genome. |
Gelderblom states: Viruses are grouped on the basis of size and shape, chemical composition and structure of the genome, and mode of replication.
Follows two basic patterns: helical symmetry (protein subunits and the nucleic acid as a helix) Icosahedral symmetry (protein subunits assemble into a symmetric shell covering nucleic acid-containing core) |
Deliver its genome into the host cell to v viruses depend on host cells supplying metabolic and biosynthetic machinery of eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells
DNA or RNA, may be single stranded or double stranded, linear or circular Approx. 532 different symmetries (shapes and structure) Capsid Lipid membrane Host Cell |
Heather Indiana Rose
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