Human vs Virus: The Fight for Survival

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Can you think of an item in your home that would have a lot of bacteria? Maybe the toilet in your bathroom?

The answer might surprise you. It is the cutting board in your kitchen!

Researchers from the University of Arizona found that the average cutting board has 200 times more fecal bacteria than a toilet seat.

• How is that possible?

Cutting boards are used to cut food items, including raw meat with fecal bacteria from their internal organs. When the boards are cleaned, their grooves and scratches are not usually reached. These are great breeding grounds for bacteria to grow!

What Are Germs?

The term germs refers to microscopic organisms that can cause infectious diseases. They are generally categorized into four types: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Take a quick look at each.

Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms that get their nutrients from the environment in which they live. They thrive in conditions where they can easily reproduce inside and outside our bodies.

When certain bacteria inside your body are high enough, you start feeling sick. Strep throat, pneumonia, and ear infections are just a few of the many conditions caused by bacteria.

However, not all bacteria are harmful. Your gut is home to trillions of good bacteria that help you digest food, absorb nutrients, and produce vitamins such as folic acid and niacin.

Viruses are not complete cells but are small particles of genetic material that need a host, like plants, animals, or humans, to survive. Viruses are considered parasites. They invade a host's cells and take them over to reproduce themselves.

This means that the environmental conditions outside of a host are not favorable for reproduction, and they will eventually die.

For a short period, however, viruses can stay alive floating in the air or on surfaces. This allows them to come in contact with hosts. Once inside a host, viruses spread quickly, causing the host to suffer illnesses such as cold, flu, or HIV/AIDS.

Fungi are multi-celled, plant-like organisms that cannot make their food from soil, water, or air. They survive by getting nutrition from plants, animals, and humans, where it is dark and damp.

When fungi live on humans, they are not particularly dangerous unless the person suffers from other chronic diseases.

• Have you ever experienced athlete's foot, which is an itchy rash between your toes?

This is a fungal infection. Topical creams are used to treat this type of infection.

Protozoa are one-celled microorganisms, bigger than bacteria, that contain a nucleus and other cell organelles.

These organisms thrive in moist areas and are usually found in water. Protozoa cause illnesses like amoebiasis and giardiasis, intestinal infections from contaminated water. These can lead to diarrhea, nausea, and stomach ache.

Protozoa can be very aggressive when they live inside a host's body. They can invade blood cells and destroy them.

How Do Germs Spread?

• Have you ever had a terrible flu?

Flu, known as common influenza, can make you feel very sick with high fever, debilitating cough, headache, and exhaustion. It can last from a few days to weeks.

• But how do you get infected?

Bacteria and viruses can spread through direct contact. Think about all of the things you touch throughout the day. Think about how often you wash your hands. Now, think about when you shake another person's hand.

• Can you imagine the number of bacteria and viruses that can potentially be transferred to you?

Aside from direct contact, viruses can float in the air inside the tiny droplets released by a person who is sneezing or coughing. If a sneeze is not covered, those droplets can travel up to six feet ahead, landing on any surface or in your face!

While it is always daunting to be conscious about what you touch or what is in the air, you can do things to prevent getting sick from spreading germs.

Wash your hands properly.

Wet your hands with warm or cold, clean, running water, and apply soap. Lather your hands by rubbing them with soap, including the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds before rinsing.

Check out the CDC video found under Additional Resources in the right-hand sidebar if you want to learn more.

Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.

The best way to contain the bacteria or virus is to cough or sneeze into a tissue and discard it into a trash can.

You can use your elbow if you do not have a tissue. However, washing or changing your shirt later is important to stay safe. Otherwise, the bacteria and virus will remain on your elbow.

Stay home when you feel sick.

Going to school if you are ill won't earn you an A in health! It just makes everything worse.

The best thing you can do is rest and minimize contact with other people. It is also important to seek advice from a medical professional and possibly take appropriate medication. This will not only help you recover but keep others safe as well.

Practice a healthier lifestyle.

You are young and likely engaged in many physical activities. However, a healthy lifestyle is not just about exercising.

What you eat also impacts your overall health and well-being. Eating healthy food will boost your immune system and help protect you from getting infected easily by bacteria and viruses.

Check out one or all of the following resources to learn more.

• How Are Germs Spread?
• This is How Germs Spread... It's Sickening!

Don't underestimate the power of germs! They can be fatal when they invade your body and reproduce. Help protect yourself from these unwanted attacks.

When you are ready, move on to the Got It? section to dig a little deeper.