Bacteriology & Antibiotics

Bacterial Pathogens and Associated Diseases

Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This session focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of these pathogenic species in humans is estimated to be fewer than a hundred. Bacteria cause many common infections such as pneumonia, wound infections, bloodstream infections (sepsis) and sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, and have also been responsible for several major disease epidemics.