The respiratory syncytial virus, more easily known as RSV, is a very common virus that infects and sickens people, usually the very young and, as is increasingly recognized, also the elderly. Most infected people will not be able to distinguish RSV infection from the common cold, but in some cases, especially among premature infants, RSV …
Coronavirus refers to a relatively small group of viruses that were first identified in the 1960s from the respiratory tracts of humans. Over the course of time, it was recognized that coronavirus infection is quite common in humans, as well as in some other animals, although those viruses do not always have the ability to …
As is often the case with microorganisms, and the diseases or infections they can cause, it is important to be specific in our language and our understanding to avoid making embarrassing, or even dangerous, errors in judgment and assumption. This can be particularly true in the case of the herpes viruses, which have a rather …
“Influenza” is a generic term that describes a large host of variant viruses that are closely related. These viruses are not differentiated, as bacteria are, by genus and species but rather through a complex naming process that first distinguishes between the three major types of influenza viruses, either A, B, or C, and then the …
Vibrio is a genus of bacteria that includes several species that are important causes of human disease. The most infamous of these diseases is caused by Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera. Other significant species causing illness in humans are Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Globally, these infections sicken many people and are sometimes fatal.
Streptococcus pyogenes refers to a specific genus and species pair which shares many common characteristics with a wide range of microorganisms in the same genus. For sake of convenience at the expense of scientific specificity, we will refer to Streptococcus pyogenes from here on out simply as strep, although this is understood to apply only …
Serratia is the genus name of a group of relatively common bacteria, the most common of which is Serratia marcescens. There are other species within the genus, a few of which have on rare occasion caused disease in humans, but the vast majority of infections with the Serratia occur with Serratia marcescens, and from this …
Klebsiella pneumoniae is the specific name of a bacterium that is capable of causing serious illness, especially pneumonia, as the name suggests, in susceptible people. Klebsiella bacteria are found in several areas of the human body, especially in the intestinal tract, where they do not cause disease, but when circumstances allow, they can be very …
Escherichia Basics Escherichia is the genus name of a group of bacteria that contains at least 7 different species, although by far the most well-known and well-studied is clearly Escherichia coli (E. coli). Because E. coli is so common in the environment and in humans, as well as in other animals and because it is …
Enterococcus is the genus name of a group of bacteria that contains about 20 different species that have been implicated in human disease at some point. However, the overwhelming majority of such infections result from Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) with most all of the remaining infections being accounted for by Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium). The …