Day Ten of the Corona Quarantine

Explanation of Germ, Virus and Bacteria

Layman’s Explanation of Terms: Germ, Virus, Bacteria

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am not an expert. I am a layman just like anyone out there reading this post and wondering what the difference is between a germ, a virus and bacteria. Driven by curiosity and confusion, this is what my research revealed. I welcome expert comments and positive reactions.

There are three terms that are tossed about like balled up socks. They deserve to be defined. If knowledge is power, understanding these terms can empower us to take more control of our health and our future.

The three terms are: germ, bacteria, and virus.

Germs can be any microscopic particle that can cause illness in humans. In itself, ‘germ’ is a catch-all phrase. A germ can be a single cell or a small mass of cells from which a more complex organism may develop. That organism may produce disease. Advances in research in the 20th and 21st century have specified that illness is caused by bacteria or viruses. This then generally has replaced the use of the non-specific term ‘germs.’

Bacteria is a single celled microorganism. Bacteria are ubiquitous. They exist abundantly in soil and water and can be present in food. A characteristic of bacterium is that they are responsive to antibiotics. Bacteria are considered by science to be a living organism. When trying to imagine a bacterium, the fact that it is a single cell, a living organism, and found everywhere, makes it ominous! It reproduces itself by a fission process—not by reproduction. A single bacterium recreates itself unless it is eliminated by either an antibiotic or by the human bodies’ immune response.

Bacteria are considered to be large organisms by science although they are micro organisms and not visible to the naked eye. Bacteria resist the human bodies’ immune defense through their thick protective coatings that repel white blood cells. Typical results of infection by bacteria are strep throat, staph, cholera, TB and food poisoning.

Good bacteria inhabit the human digestive system. It helps create yogurt and fermented foods such as kim chi. Environmentally, bacteria aids in the breakdown of organic material and in the process by which plants utilize carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and are able to grow. With these characteristics of bacteria, they are functional in the life of all plants and animals on earth. Bacteria in the gut of the human species is a part of the microbiome. This term, microbiome, is a current catch phrase in the promotion of a healthy modern world view.

When a healthy balance with the human immune system exists, bacteria supports health and metabolism. When out of balance, bacteria can create challenges in the health and functioning of the human system in everything from skin to elimination.

The last and most currently discussed term: virus

The Corona Virus pandemic has created fear and curiosity among humans around the world. What is a virus and how can it kill us so quickly? What defenses do we have? We need to understand the characteristic of the virus in order to begin to understand and resist this pandemic virus.

The virus is a structure-less micro organism which requires a living host to survive. It is an infectious agent that replicates within the living cells of its host. It is usually considered by science to be a non-living organism. It has no specific cell structure, but has a DNA (or RNA) structure and a protein coat that invades its host, then after taking over the host cell, causes it to create copies of the virus itself, and kills the cell in the process. Viruses are submicroscopic. As such they may inhabit bacteria. Viruses are numerous in all parts of the environment and can be found in every ecosystem.

Treatment for the habitation of the virus can come through intervention treatments which limit the spread of the virus and its fatal effect on the host, and through specific vaccines which alert the immune system of the host to the negative presence of the virus. Viruses have no recognized beneficial roles.

Antibiotics are not a recognized treatment for viral infections. The immune responses of the host are fundamental in the elimination of the virus. Similar to what we know as the flu which is also a viral illness, the virus is allowed to ‘run its course’ This really means that the immune system and the viral affect are in a state of conflict within the host. Symptoms are treated to increase the comfort and the survival rate of the host. Overcoming the virus leads to the return to health of the host. Inability of the host to overcome the virus, leads to death or lasting negative outcomes. Antibodies may be present in the blood of the host following recovery from infection.

The spread of a virus is accomplished in several ways. Vectors, such as insects like aphids, can spread viruses between plants. Among humans, viruses can be spread by sneezing, coughing, touching, or exchange or direct exposure to infected body fluids. Viruses are considered parasitic as they cannot replicate without a host. Viruses most commonly recognized in modern times are herpes, flu, and Ebola, all of which affect humans. Rabies is an example of a virus which affects animals.

Viruses exist with only one purpose: to reproduce themselves. Their reproductive cycle is cyclical and unlimited. It is their only function. Some viruses cross the mother-fetus barrier and an infected pregnant mother can give birth to an infected infant. Some viruses can pass through vectors such as insects and infect human and animal hosts. Some viruses live long lives on surfaces outside of hosts. Some can pass from host to host simply through the touch of infected surfaces and then the introduction of the virus to susceptible membranes.

While much is unknown about the nature of the current viral spread around the modern world, it is known that some viruses create long term effects in the host. Another negative outcome can be that the hosts’ DNA can provide the opportunity for a viral infection to mutate and cause new and unexpected symptoms, as well as new forms of the virus.

There are also instances where the virus can be passed from a known infection among a single species of animals and then go through a DNA mutation inside a human host, become a human pathogen.

How can the human body overcome the infection of a virus? Immune systems try to break down the cells of a virus, rendering it ineffective. If the reproductive spread rate of a virus outpaces the ability of the immune system to breakdown the cells of the virus, the outcome is often negative. The immune system can seek to make a virus non-infectious by simply blocking the reproductive process in other cells. This gives the immune system the time it needs to successfully breakdown the cells of the virus and decreases the possibility that the virus will overwhelm the host.

In summary:

Germs are:

Any micro organism that causes illness in humans

Possible to be bacteria or viruses

Treated as is appropriate to the symptoms of the

resulting illness

Bacteria are:

Treated by and responsive to antibiotics

Either pathological or beneficial

Living organisms

Able to reproduce asexually between cells of the host

Able to be inhabited by viruses

Viruses are:

Treated with vaccines or specific antiviral drugs

Viral vaccines used are weakened forms of a virus. They stimulate the immune system.

Targeted by specific immunizations

Overwhelmed in time if the immune system can disrupt the reproductive process of the virus

A non-living organism.

Dependent on a host to reproduce

The relationship between germs in the form of bacteria and viruses is as old as history itself.

The story of viruses in modern times continues. Our current confrontation with the Corona Virus is yet another chapter in history. It is still being written.

Karen McGinnis, Author of a Place for the Eye to Rest

4-5-20

I welcome your comments and additions. Email me at Karenmac1999@hotmail.com