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Presentation by
Mrs. C. Myrtle
Jack Jouett Middle School
November 1, 2005
What Are Germs?
Germs are tiny microscopic organisms
that can cause disease.
What Types of Germs Are
There?
What Do Germs Do?
There are four major types of
germs: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and
protozoa.
Once germs invade our bodies, they snuggle in for a long stay.
They are PARASITE, they draw energy from their hosts. As they
gobble up nutrients and energy, they produce wastes of their own
called TOXINS.
Toxins cause symptoms of common infections like fevers, sniffles,
rashes, coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea.
BACTERIA
• Tiny single celled creatures
that can reproduce outside of
our bodies or within our
bodies.
• The can cause infections.
• Not all bacteria are bad.
Some live in our intestines
and help us use the nutrients
in food.
VIRUSES
Depend upon a host to survive, grow, and
reproduce.
Once inside a body, viruses can spread and
make organisms very sick. They cause Chicken
pox, Measles, Flu, Conjunctivitis, and many other
diseases in people.
FUNGI
Multi-celled plant-like
organisms. Unlike plants, fungi
cannot produce their own food
from photosynthesis. Fungi get
nutrition from other plants,
food, and animals.
They thrive in damp, warm
environments.
Most are not dangerous. They
can cause athlete’s foot, and
rashes or allergies.
PROTOZOA
One-celled organisms like
bacteria. Protozoa love
moisture and spread through
contaminated water.
Cause intestinal infections
that lead to diarrhea, nausea,
and belly pain
Conjunctivitis or Pinkeye is a common
eye inflammation caused by a bacteria.
Symptoms – red, itchy crusty or gooey,
irritated eyes.
You can catch it just by touching and
infected person or surface. If you then touch
your eyes, the infection can be spread to you.
Cure – You will need to see a doctor for a
prescription. Don’t wait. It is very
contagious.
Avoid catching Conjunctivitis –
Wash your hands often
with warm, soapy water
A cold is an infection of the upper
respiratory system. It is caused by a virus.
There are over 200 kinds of viruses. The
RHINOVIRUS is the most common cold virus.
You catch a cold when a virus docks or lands and sticks
to the inside of you nose like a small spaceship attaching
to a mother ship!
Symptoms – Mucus, red and runny nose, sneezing,
hoarseness, sore muscles, feeling tired
There is no cure so to prevent catching a cold-
Wash your hands often with warm,
soapy water
Strep Throat is a contagious disease caused by the
streptococci bacteria.
You catch strep throat because Streptococci bacteria hang
out in the nose and throat. Sneezing, coughing, or shaking
hands can easily scatter the strep to others as well as
touching books, doorknobs, tables, etc.
Cure – You will
need to see a doctor
Symptoms – Red
to get a throat
sore throat with
culture. It tells
white patches,
what type of
trouble swallowing,
bacteria is infecting
swollen glands,
your throat.
enlarged, red
tonsils, headache,
Usually your doctor
fever, and maybe a
will give you a
rash
Wash your hands often prescription for
with warm, soapy water antibiotics
Coughing,
sneezing or
even talking may
be enough to
send the virus
to others.
Flu is a common name for
influenza, a virus that attacks
the respiratory system.
There are 3 types of flu
virus Type A, Type B and a
rare form that produces mild
symptoms, Type C.
Symptoms – fever,
headache, chills, dry cough,
feeling tired, and loss of
appetite
Flue may cause vomiting,
stomach pain, and diarrhea
Flu virus mutates or
changes each year so it is hard
for your body to produce
antibodies. Flu virus is very
contagious and people can pass
the virus before they even
know they are sick.
From December to April,all across the United States, as many as 90
million people come down with the flu each year. In a bad outbreak
as many as 50% of the people in an area can become sick.
Cure – Antibiotics don’t work so you probably won’t need to see a
doctor
Rest in bed, drink lots of water & juice. Take acetaminophen, such
as Tylenol or ibuprofen, such as Motrin. Do NOT take aspirin
because it increases the risk of a very serious illness that leads to
liver failure.
Flu viruses are very contagious so STAY HOME FROM SCHOOL!
Get a flu shot. Scientists create vaccines from
DEAD viruses that cannot give you the flu. They try
to guess which viruses will be the most common
each year. The Flu shot will help your body produce
antibodies against those particular viruses. You may
still get the flu from another type of virus, but the
chance is reduced.
When a person sneezes, droplets from the mouth and nose
spread at a rate of up to 150 feet per second! That is
around 100 miles per hour! When most of the droplets
evaporate, thousands of germ-carrying particles are left
Click Here for Video
floating in the air!
How Can You Protect Yourself From Germs?
Germs spread through
the air in sneezes and
coughs or mix with
body fluids like sweat,
saliva, and blood.
The best was to protect
yourself is to avoid
those things.
Cover your nose and
mouth when you sneeze
and cover your mouth
when you cough to keep
from spreading germs.
Use tissues, your
sleeves, or the collar of
your shirt to catch
sneezes.
Remember the two words germs fear – SOAP and
WATER. Always wash after using the bathroom,
before you prepare and eat food, after you handle
money, after playing with pets or visiting a sick friend,
and when you sneeze, cough, or blow your nose.
Wash your hands often with
warm, soapy water
1. How Fast Do Germs Spread?
Break for Activity
2. In conclusion, please watch the
following video which nicely
sums up our discussion of
germs.
Click Here for Video