Harmful Bacteria

Harmful bacteria are those bacteria that may harm your body and immune system making you sick. The very common cause of the food borne illness in human beings is said to be due to the harmful bacteria. Bacteria are there on the food at the time you buy them. Raw foods, as they are not sterile are the very common source of food borne illnesses. When cooked food is left for about more than 2 hours allows the bacteria to multiply very fast.

Disease causing bacteria are referred to as pathogenic bacteria. These pathogenic bacteria can attack human beings, plants and animals. Thus the disease caused by such bacteria are very worst causing toothache, food poisoning, anthrax and some forms of cancer, as well. The harmful bacteria like septicemia, tetanus, pneumonia, impetigo, tonsillitis, earaches, step throat also causes a number of other diseases, etc.

There are some harmful bacteria that may even prove to be life threatening. For instance, the Legionella pnuemoniae that causes the Legionnaire's disease. The bacteria, Vibrio cholerae is the cause of cholera. This harmful bacterium needs moist places like hot-water piper or air conditioners for their survival.

Many different types of harmful bacteria lead to food poisoning. Some of these harmful bacteria are:

* Clostridium perfringes- it is found in poultry, raw milk, eggs, vegetables that come in direct contact with the soil and unpasteurized dairy products. Infections happen when gravies, soups or stews are prepared with meat, poultry or fish that are not stored properly or unrefrigerated for a long time.

* Salmonella and Campylobacter- they are generally found in warm blooded animals like poultry animals, cattle and swine. The bacterial organisms are found in poultry, eggs, raw meat and unpasteurized dairy products.

* Campylobacteriosis- this is a bacterial infection of the digestive tract that is caused by bacteria called Campylobacter. These organisms are present in food and water that are contaminated by the pets.

* Listeriosis- this is again a bacterial infection that is caused by consuming contaminated food. The bacterium that causes this infection is called Listeria monocytogenes. This harmful bacterium is present in the soil, dairy products, soft cheese, and unpasteurized milk.

Harmful microorganisms are present in raw milk that can cause serious health problems in your family. The unpasteurized milk of the sheep, cow or goat carry harmful bacteria's with them like the E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Pasteurization is a process of killing the harmful bacteria present in the milk. This is done by heating the milk upto a specific temperature and then storing it in the refrigerator.

The harmful bacteria leads to a number of food borne illness that may cause vomiting, diarrhea, flu, abdominal pain, headaches and body aches.

You might have aloes seen the warning on many products that "this product is not pasteurized and it may contain harmful bacteria. If you cannot determine that the product you are using is pasteurized or not for destroying the harmful bacteria, better way either avoid using it or boil it for killing the harmful bacteria, if any present.