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 …
Staphylococcus is the genus name of a very large group of closely related bacteria, some of which are commonly found on and in the human body, and some of these bacteria are notorious causes of infection and disease. Among the most common of these bacteria that are capable of causing disease are Staphylococcus aureus and …
Shigella is a genus group of bacteria that contains four species, S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri, S. boydii, and S. sonnei. While these are frequently referred to as “species,” it is probably more scientifically correct to refer to them as biotypes of Escherichia, but because of the important medical differences between infections with Shigella versus most …
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 …
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 …