TOPIC 2

INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIOLOGY

Illustrate a common microorganism and compare the following using the

table below:
Bacteria Parasite Virus Fungi

Illustration
(draw/
image)

Common spherical filamentous, yeasts and

morphologic (cocci), rod isometric (or hyphae
al structures (bacilli), icosahedral),
spiral enveloped,
(spirilla), and head and
comma tail
(vibrios) or
corkscrew
(spirochaetes
)

Growth Food, acidity, Temperature,

requirement time, pH level,
temperature, oxygen, water
oxygen, and availability, and
moisture light

warm, moist,
protein-rich
 environment
that is pH
neutral or
slightly acidic

Manner of Contact, through Infection via direct skin

infection airborne, consumption airborne contact (with
droplet, of droplets and humans or
vectors, and contaminated particles. animals), or
vehicular food and indirectly from
Contact
(contaminate water, or by contaminated
infection and
d inanimate putting articles on
smear
objects such anything into floors or in the
infection.
as food, your mouth soil.
water, and that has Infection via
fomites) touched the contaminated
stool (feces) water and
of an food.
infected Infection via
person or blood and
animal tissue

Examples of Strep throat. Giardiasis AIDS. Candidiasis

Diseases it
Salmonella. Malaria Common cold. Cryptococcosis
can cause
Tuberculosis. Filariasis Ebola. Aspergillosis
Whooping Genital Coccidioidomyc
cough herpes. osis (Valley
(pertussis). Fever)
Influenza.
Chlamydia, Histoplasmosis.
Measles.
gonorrhea
Blastomycosis
and other Chickenpox
sexually and shingles. Pneumocystis
transmitted pneumonia.
Coronavirus
 infections disease 2019
(STIs). (COVID-19)
Urinary tract
infections
(UTIs).

1. What is hygiene?
2. How does proper hygiene assist in preventing and controlling
common infections?
3. As a future nurse, how will you advocate hygiene to your friends and
family? Relate it with the bible verse above.

ANSWERS:

1. Hygiene is any practice or activity that you do to keep things healthy

and clean. Moreover, it refers to the state of lifestyle which follows
cleanliness that can lead to good health.

2. Hygiene practices reduce the risk of transmission by killing the germs

and microbes that carry the disease. Soaps, sanitisers and other hygiene
products contain ingredients and chemicals that, while harmless to
humans, kill these microorganisms.

In order to prevent an outbreak, good personal hygiene should be

adopted as part of daily life, and maintained to keep the infectious
disease at bay. There is no guarantee, however, that hygiene habits will
work with the same degree of effectiveness against every infectious
disease, particularly mutations. Not only is proper hygiene effective in
preventing an infectious disease outbreak, it can assist in the
management of an outbreak. When everyone is encouraged to practice
safe hygiene, the rate at which the infectious disease can spread slows
down rapidly. If good hygiene becomes routine, the microorganisms
aren’t able to transfer, and become less threatening to the community
as active cases of the disease reduce.