Types of Harmful Microbes

Most of the diseases are caused by harmful microorganisms or pathogens. Such pathogens are adapted in a way that they can infect a host organism and multiply within that host to cause disease. Various types of harmful microbes can be seen. They are described below:

Pathogens Transmitted Through Carriers

• Some microorganisms require a carrier organism to cause disease to the host.
• Examples: An example of such a microbe is Plasmodium sp. It is a protist or protozoa. Protozoa are eukaryotic and unicellular organisms. It uses the female anopheles mosquito as a carrier. When this mosquito bites a human, the plasmodium enters into the host body (human) and starts to multiply. These protozoa mainly destroy the red blood cells of humans and cause malaria, anaemia, hypoxemia etc.

Pathogens Transmitted Through Contaminated Water and Air

• Some microbes enter into the human body through contaminated air, water, food or through cuts on the skin and then cause various diseases in humans.
• Examples: Bacteria (unicellular prokaryotic organisms), viruses (act as living beings within the host body), fungi (eukaryotic organisms) and protozoa can cause water-borne or food-borne diseases. Some of the water-borne diseases caused by bacteria are Cholera, Dysentery etc. Giardia, cryptosporidium etc. are some water-borne protozoan diseases. Measles, Covid etc. are some air-borne viral diseases. Aspergillosis, coccidiomycosis etc. are some air-borne fungal diseases. Streptococcus is a bacteria that can enter into the human body through small cuts of the skin and cause severe infection i.e. necrotizing fasciitis.

Communicable Pathogens

• Some diseases caused by pathogens are communicable and infectious.
• Examples: Some of the communicable viral diseases are the common cold, flu, herpes, HIV etc. MRSA, TB etc. are some of the communicable bacterial diseases. These diseases are spread from one infected person to another through body fluid, contaminated surface area, blood etc.

Harmful microorganisms are very small organisms that cause spoilage of food materials and are also the causative agents of various diseases and infections. Microorganisms, or microbes, are tiny unicellular organisms seen only under a microscope. Some benefit humans in industrial processes and digestion, while others are harmful. In this article, we will cover the harmful microorganisms in detail.