Germs

Visit Germs, Germs Everywhere a ThinkQuest site about germs that also has a glossary of terms and ways to combat germs.

The Black Death killed one-third of Europe's population in the 1300's.

Did you know that the part of your body that protects you from germs is called your immune system? Visit the Immune System to get a detailed look at the part of your body that protects you against germs.

Why did the doctor move the patient away from the window?

So he'd feel no pane.

Why did the germ cross the microscope?

To get to the other slide!

Did you know germs can be transmitted from an animal to you?

Meningitis can permanently affect someone's ability to think and learn. To learn more go to Meningitis.

Did you know that many diseases are caused by germs? Here is a list of the top ten most dangerous infectious diseases:

Respiratory infections (including influenza)
HIV/AIDS
Diarrhea diseases (including cholera)
Tuberculosis
Malaria
Measles
Whooping cough
Tetanus
Meningitis
Syphilis

Did you know that trillions of microscopic creatures, or microbes, are surrounding you right now? They are in your mouth, on your skin, and all over your body. Microbes can sometimes be sickguy good. They help you digest food and produce vitamins. But some can make you sick or even kill you. They are well known as germs.

In Greek, germs are called pathogens, which means the cause of disease. The four main types of pathogens are bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. These pathogens have killed lots of people, more people than all of the people killed in all the world's wars combined.

The History of Germs

10,000-8,000 B.C. Many humans are farmers. They get illnesses from animals. They get measles from dogs, flu from pigs, anthrax from sheep, and tuberculosis from cows.

400 B.C. Greek physician, Hypocrites, declares that diseases don’t come from demons or gods.

A.D. 1347 The Black Death spreads to Asia, Africa, and Europe. It wipes out one third of all Europeans.

14 ship 92 When Christopher Columbus arrives in the new world, he brings diseases with him that the natives die from.

1673 Dutch merchant Anton Van Leeuwenhoek sees bacteria with his home-made microscope.

1796 First vaccine is created by doctor Edward Jenner.

1840 Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis has his hospital staff wash their hands before attending to patients. He was trying washing hands to figure out if it made a difference in saving lives.

1860 It is discovered that bacteria causes illnesses by French chemist Louis Pasteur. He calls the bacteria "germs."

1892 Viruses are discovered by Russian scientist Dmitri Ivanovski. Viruses are so small that it takes an electron microscope, invented in the 1930’s, to see them.

1900 U.S. Army Major Walter Reed proves that yellow fever is transmitted from mosquitoes.

1918 The flu kills more than 20 million people across the world. That’s more than the deaths from WWII.

1928 Alexander Flemming discovers that a mold called penicillium kills bacteria. This discovery leads to the first antibiotic. It makes some diseases treatable for the first time.

1946 The United States creates the Communicable Disease Center, now called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It fights diseases worldwide.

1980 There is a global vaccination program that wipes out the smallpox virus. It is the first time a virus has been made totally extinct, except for the possibility that some countries have kept samples for biological warfare.

1981 AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) a mysterious new disease kills people in the U.S., Europe, and Africa.

2003 A man in China becomes ill with a strange type of pneumonia. In three months time, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) spreads throughout the world. It’s a difficult virus to contain.

How your body defends itself:

Tears wash away things that try and enter in through the eye. Tears also kill bacteria. Mucous membranes line some areas of your body, like your nose. Mucus can trap germs because it is sticky. Germs that make it passed the mucus get swallowed into the stomach. Acids in the stomach kill germs. Some germs can also get in through the skin.

Things you can do to prevent yourself from getting sick:

Wash your hands after using the restroom or sneezing and before cooking. After you misquitoe get a cut or scrape, you should put a bandage on it so germs don’t infect it. Wear bug spray in areas where bugs are popular.

Lots of germs are carried on creatures that you come in contact with, like mosquitoes and ticks. They transmit diseases such as West Nile Virus, Malaria, and Lyme disease.

Credits

Magazines

Price, Sean. Kids Discover Germs. Mark Levine. 2003.

Images

Images of mosquito, doctor washing his hands, ship, and sick guy from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004).

Jokes

Bernstein, Joanne E. and Paul Cohen. Dizzy Doctor Riddles. Niles, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company. 1989.