Germs in drinking water
Many people in this country know contaminated drinking water only from television. In developing countries, however, unclean water is a real problem. Inadequate sewerage systems and the lack of sewage treatment plants often result in garbage or human excrements ending up in the water that is actually intended to be used as drinking water.
If the climate in these countries is also warm, there is nothing to prevent the growth of germs. Outbreaks of cholera or other diseases occur, which are accompanied by diarrhoea. The consequences are high child and infant mortality.
Besides Vibrio cholerae, bacteria that spread in unclean water are for example Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Escherichia coli. Viral representatives are Noro-, Adeno or Astroviruses. Especially persistent are germs of the legionella type.
They do not only occur in unclean waters, but are also partially present in Europe in the pipes of older houses and thus cause a sensation again and again. Legionella belong to the genus of rod bacteria, in humans they cause the “legionnaire’s disease“. The treacherous thing about this disease is that it is only triggered by inhaling the pathogens.
Therefore, Legionella often spreads in warm water sources, namely where steam is generated and the bacteria can enter the respiratory system. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease are primarily pneumonia. The diagnosis includes the application of various cultures from blood and urine, the therapy is based on the administration of macrolide antibiotics. At risk are elderly people with underlying diseases and people with weakened immune systems (chemotherapy patients), as they often die of pneumonia.
Germs in hospital
Hospital-acquired infections (nosocomial infections) have increased significantly in recent years. This development is also due to the usually careless use of antibiotics. Some types of bacteria have become accustomed to the antibiotics that are supposed to kill them, and multi-resistant pathogens are developing that can hardly be treated with conventional antibiotics (broad-spectrum antibiotics).
Then reserve preparations are used, but unfortunately there are already some strains of pathogens for which even the reserve antibiotics are no longer able to do anything. Germs become dangerous in hospitals in the case of open wounds, diarrhoea and for people with weakened immune systems (e.g. after chemotherapy). Wound infections and wound healing disorders are often caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Patients in whom MRSA is detected must be isolated in a single room and medical personnel may only enter the room in protective clothing. The same applies to infections with resistant Escherichia coli bacteria. The intestinal inhabitants cause opportunistic infections.An opportunistic infection is an infection with bacteria that are normally found in the body and do not harm it, but can cause illness if the immune system is weakened.
Infections with Escherichia coli lead to diarrhea and can cause considerable harm to people whose immune system is already weakened. Special measures are in place in hospitals in case of outbreaks of infections caused by germs. Sick patients are often banned from visiting, isolated in single rooms and the medical staff must pay special attention to the prescribed hygiene measures and also document them. Only when the patient has been confirmed as germ-free by laboratory diagnostic procedures, such as the establishment of blood, urine or stool colonies, are these measures lifted again.
