Bacterial Diseases of Humans

Gram'+ Cocci:
Staphylococci, including Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS):
The main pathogenic species is Staphylococcus aureus (aure = gold, golden), which causes most hospital-acquired infections. Multiple-drug-resistant strains have become a problem due to overuse of antibiotics
Streptococci :
Not all streptococci are bad: many are beneficial. Streptococcus thermophilus (thermo = heat; philia = brotherly love) is one of the bacteria that help turn milk into yogurt. Streptococcus py'ogenes causes strep throat (pyo = pus, inflammation; gen = bear, produce).
Streptococcus pneumoniae:
This is a diplococcus (pneumo = lungs) which infects the lungs, causing pneumonia, and is spread by coughing. Penicillin is effective for-most of these. except where overuse has caused resistant strains. This is especially a problem with S. aureus in hospitals.
Gram'- Cocci:
Gonorrhea:
(gono = seed, generation, offspring; rrhea = flow. current) This disease is a sexually-transmitted disease (STD), and is caused by a bacterium of this type. One symptom is a pussy discharge from the genital area.
Meningitis:
(meninges, meninx = a membrane [around the brain]; -itis = inflammation) This is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and/or spinal cord, and is life-threatening because of proximity of these membranes to the brain/spine.
Various Bacilli:
Salmonella:
(-ella = small) This disease is named after a Dr. Salmon who discovered it, and causes a type of food poisoning which has been in the news recently when it has made people sick after eating eggs, hamburger, etc. which contained it.
Escherichia coli:
This is a normal part of our intestinal flora, and is non-pathogenic if living in its normal environment in someone' s large intestine. However, if it gets elsewhere in the body. like the upper or tract, it can make a person sick. This usually happens by the "fecal-oral route," in other words, when someone drinks water or eats food washed in water containing untreated sewage.
Cholera:
Epidemics of this disease can be prevented by proper sewage handling
Bubonic Plague:
(bubo = groin, swollen gland) This is also known as Black Death, and is infamous for wiping out about a third of the population of Europe in the Middle Ages
Other Bacteria:
Clostridium sp. :
Two common pathogens in this genus cause botulism and tetanus (the disease). Botulism (botulus = sausage) is a type 'of food poisoning, and is often found in undercooked meats.
Tetanus (tetano = rigid, tense) is a disease in which all the person's muscles stiffen and contract due to the presence of a toxin secreted by the bacteria. It's not the rust on a rusty nail that's the problem, it's the possibility of tetanus bacteria llving there.
tuberculosis:
(tuberculum = a little knob, swelling) This disease was at a low for a long time, but now is a problem again because of multiple-drug-resistant strains that have evolved due to the overuse of antibiotics. These bacteria live in the lungs and destroy lung tissue.
Hansen's Disease:
This is a disease, better known by another name, with an ancient history. If s not very contagious, but ancient and Medieval people didn't know that, so people with this disease were required to live outside of town and not associate with "normal" people, much the way some AIDS victims have been treated today. the original name of this disease was leprosy. This affects the person's nerves, so (s)he loses his/her sense of feeling in affected body parts, often resulting in a greater danger of injury to those body parts (imagine not being
able to tell when something is too hot to touch, thus not instinctively pulling back your hand). Armadillos can carry the leprosy bacterium.
Syphilis:
This bacterium is spread by intercourse (it is an STD). The initial symptom is a sore on the genitalia followed later by a serious, general infection. A baby can become blind if (s)he gets syphilis in his/her eyes as (s)he is being bom.
Lyme Disease:
This bacterium is spread by the bite of a deer tick, thus is more common around wooded, rural areas. It is named after the town of Lyme, Conn., where it was first observed. There may be some inflammation around the site of the bite, but not always. However, if untreated at that stage, the main symptom is an arthritis-like condition that can last for months.