Pathogens bingo...backafteradozenyrs is our winner!!!

[millymolly]

Got both of those nice start

[backafteradozenyrs]

I've got Yersinia Pestis, yay (I think???) 1/10

(Maybe I'm weird but I thought that was funny!!)

btw-a little girl contracted the Plague in the mid-west just this past summer (out camping with family & the 12 y/old found a dead squirrel, she asked "Mommy can I bury it" & Mommy said No. Little girl went back & wrapped dead animal in her sweat shirt....)

Yes I heard about that on the news.....does anyone know if the little girl recovered ok? I also heard there has been an outbreak of hantavirus too...which I think comes from mouse droppings Personally I would say that viruses are way more scary than bacteria....after all most bacteria can be controlled with antibiotics whereas there aren't any treatments for viruses except vaccinations, so if you've get a virus all you can do is treat the symptoms.



Hopefully I'm not creeping too many people out with the info......remember it is very unlikely that you guys out there will ever be affected by most of these microbes. Also the general ratio of good to bad microbes is somewhere in the region of 85%:15% in favour of the good guys....so please don't have nightmares!!

I am very much a SMART @$$ & I'm usually aiming for a laugh (so I did mean that to be funny)
And sorry I didn't mention it: the little girl was released from the hospital about a week, week & a half ago.
Unfortunatley, there are THOUSANDS (upto 14k) who were exposed to the Hanta virus (besides the fact that 7 have died from it. )

[Ketta]

I'm fairly sure the little girl survived; two people in Oregon contracted it this year and survived with no problems; catching it early is key. And yes, several people died from hantavirus after visiting the Yosemite area, but loads more were exposed and many others who developed symptoms caught it early enough and survived. From what I've read, it's a common virus to get exposed to in areas like that and those who work in the Parks system know it, but after cuts to staff and man-hours, they've apparently fallen behind on keeping the rental cabins and so forth aired out and cleaned properly. If I remember correctly, the virus is airborne, flying up from dried mouse poo.

In other words, when visiting Yosemite this year, don't breathe if you rent a cabin.

[nachosmiley]

Sorry everyone for the lateness of my post....it's been a manic Monday for sure!! So todays picks are 10 and 16!

10. Bacillus anthracis


Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and animals. There are effective vaccines against anthrax, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment. Like many other members of the Bacillus family, Bacillus anthracis can form dormant endospores that are able to survive in harsh conditions for decades or even centuries. Such spores can be found on all continents, even Antarctica! Anthrax does not spread directly from one infected animal or person to another; it is spread by the spores that can be transported easily,even by clothing or shoes. When spores are inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with a skin lesion on a host, they may become reactivated and multiply rapidly. Anthrax spores can be produced in a lab and are notorious for their potential use as a biological weapon.

16. Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic protozoa that can be passed onto humans via its primary host, the cat. Toxoplasmosis, the disease of which T. gondii is the causative agent, is usually minor and self-limiting but can have serious or even fatal effects on a foetus if the mother first contracts the disease during pregnancy. Around a third of people worldwide carry the parasite, with around 80% of infected people showing no obvious symptoms of toxoplasma and they are completely unaware that they are harbouring the parasite. Most carriers pick up the parasite by consuming undercooked meat, especially lamb, pork and venison or by ingesting water, soil or anything contaminated by feline faeces. As part of its life cycle the parasite forms cysts, mainly in the tissues of the muscles and brain. A number of small-scale studies suggest that toxoplasma infection may alter people's personality, making them more prone to risk-taking or delayed reaction times. Studies have also linked toxoplasma infection to psychotic disturbances such as self-harm and suicide, and to serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia.

[rcperryls]

This may be the only bingo when I'm not sure if I'm glad that I don't have any of the picks or not . Still at 1/10. It's hard to not know about anthrax after the mailroom crisis right after 9/11 and the numerous tv shows where terrorists threaten to release anthrax nearly everywhere one time or another. Still and all, it is interesting to learn more about these microbes that surround us.

Carole

[tiffstitch]

None for me, although I know fun facts about these 2 as well. Anthrax spreads so easily because the spores are extremely mobile, and toxoplasmosis can be a cause of blindness, and as nacho mentioned, the reason why pregnant women are supposed to stay away from litterboxes.

Great bingo nacho!

[Ketta]

Up to 2/10.

[backafteradozenyrs]

This may be the only bingo when I'm not sure if I'm glad that I don't have any of the picks or not . Still at 1/10.

I'll second you on that one, Carole!

BTW: has anyone else noticed how PRETTY (color wise) these pesky parasites are???? (or am I just sick?)

[Squirrel]

The same thought occurred to me Diane - they are pretty.

I now have 2/10 - hurray

[Ketta]

For the most part, they're either stained that way (gram staining), and these images are likely electron microscope images that have had color added afterward so that the bacteria stand out.

[pattiebelle]

none for me today. still at 1/10.

great info! i love this stuff!!!

[yagam1]

No numbers for me today, but I am finding it very interesting to read about the different pathogens. Thanks for all the info!

[Fizzbw]

Yay I got one! Mind you, it's the one that made me queasy....toxoplasmosis...

I'm usually very tough when it comes to these things, but I'm suffering with nausea at them moment and everything is making me queasy. Of course the cat is making things easy, not, by bringing in many dead, half dead or half eaten mice.

Niki xx

[dwitt]

None for me this time... still at 2/10

[LisaJo]

I've got 3 so far.

I wish I could read all the interesting info without feeling ill. Yay for hypochondria.

[nachosmiley]

I do agree Diana that the microbes do look kinda pretty with their make-up on!! You are right Ketta these guys are coloured in electron microscopy pictures! BTW thanks for letting me know about the little girl who contracted plague...it's nice to know she made a full recovery...the wonders of medicine amaze me just as much as nature sometimes!

Anyway on to todays picks.....my random number generator picked 18 and 19 today!

18. Morbillivirus

Morbillivirus is the causative agent of measles. Measles is spread through respiration, and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it. The classic signs and symptoms of measles include four-day fevers and the three Cs — cough, coryza (head cold) and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other symptoms are fever, anorexia, and rashes. The fever may reach up to 40 °C (104 °F). The characteristic measles rash begins several days after the fever starts. It starts on the back of ears and, after a few hours, spreads to the head and neck before spreading to cover most of the body, often causing itching. The rash is said to "stain", changing color from red to dark brown, before disappearing.
Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from the relatively mild to more serious ones such as pneumonia, otitis media (middle ear infection), acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and corneal ulceration (leading to corneal scarring). Complications are usually more severe in adults who catch the virus. In 2000 the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that there were 45 million cases of measles worldwide with 800,000 deaths. In 2010, approximately 380 deaths occurred every day from measles. According to the WHO, measles is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality.

19. Varicella-Zoster virus

Chickenpox is a highly contagious, mainly childhood, illness caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus. It usually starts with a skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, leaving raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring. It is an airborne disease spread easily through coughing or sneezing of ill individuals or through direct contact with secretions from the rash. A person with chickenpox is infectious one to two days before the rash appears and until all the lesions have crusted over (approx. six days). There are several theories regarding the origin of the term chicken pox. It is often stated to be a modification of chickpeas (based on resemblance of the vesicles to chickpeas) or due to the rash resembling chicken pecks. After a chickenpox infection, the virus remains dormant in the body's nerve tissues. The immune system keeps the virus at bay, but later in life, usually as an adult, it can be reactivated and cause a different form of the viral infection called shingles (herpes zoster). Many adults who have had chicken pox as children are susceptible to shingles as adults, often with the accompanying condition postherpetic neuralgia, a painful condition that makes it difficult to sleep, even after the shingles rash has gone away, this condition causes night pain in the area that was affected by the rash.

[dwitt]

got one today.... 3/10 now

[rcperryls]

Not only do I not have any today so still at 1/10, but I also have never had measles (thought I did, but when I got German Measles as an adult at the hospital I worked at, Public Health did blood work - before and after- for both measles and German measles which confirmed the German and said no for the regular. Dr said what they thought was measles when I was 9 was probably scarletina) never had chicken pox either. My mother never did either. My sister did and we shared a bed, but I never got them. Mom even sent me to play with friends who had chicken pox (they thought weird things in those days) so I wouldn't have them as an adult, but never got em.

Carole

[debupnorth]

I'm a little slow in checking my numbers this game. Looks like I needn't have worried too much - only 1/10 so far. But very interesting reading!

[jess223]

I'm at 3/10

The first one I got made me think of the part in Mrs. Doubtfire, where the dad says that the mom may get amebic dysentery and the brother explains it to his sister by saying "It's an infection in your tummy where you get diarrhea for ever...And your body dries up and you die." The disease isn't as funny as that movie though