Germs

• Do you know that our bodies are full of germs? They are everywhere! On
our skin, hair and even nails!

• Germs are tiny organisms. They are so small that they are not visible to
the naked eye and can only be seen using a microscope.

• Many germs are useful and keep our bodies healthy. Some types of germs
are even used to make food, such as bread and cheese. Other germs are
used to make medicine, such as antibiotics.

• Occasionally, germs can make us feel poorly. Only certain types of germs
can have this effect.

• There are four main types of germ:

• bacteria
• fungi
• viruses
• protozoa
 Bacteria
• Some types of bacteria can cause infections such as, tonsillitis, ear
infections and pneumonia.

• Bacteria are very tiny, one-celled organisms which need nutrition from
their environment. Sometimes, these nutrients are from the human body.

• Bacteria produce toxins that cause cells to burst and release the key
nutrients that they need.

• Not all bacteria are bad; our body is full of helpful bacteria that we need
every day.
Bacteria

Photo courtesy of Sanofi Pasteur (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
 Viruses
• Viruses can only survive for long periods of time when living in another
organism.

• The organism that the virus lives in is called the host.

• Viruses can multiply rapidly inside the host and sometimes make them very
sick.

• They can only live for a short while on objects outside the body.

• This is why washing your hands is important: you could be transferring

viruses around if you don’t.
Viruses

Photo courtesy of Sanofi Pasteur (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
 Fungi
• Fungi are plant-like organisms that cannot make their own food from water,
light and soil. A few examples of fungi are yeast, moulds and mushrooms.

• They live in warm, dark and damp places.

• A fungus breaks down dead organic matter around it and uses it as food.

• An example of a condition caused by fungi is Athlete’s Foot, which is

where your feet become all flaky and itchy.
Fungi

Photo courtesy of marsupium photography (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
 Protozoa
• Protozoa are small single-celled organisms which eat bacteria and some
other food sources.

• Protozoa spread infections and disease through water.

• They cause things like stomach ache, nausea (sickness) and diarrhoea.
Protozoa

Photo courtesy of dhobern (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution