Pseudomonas Aeruginosa: The Air-Breathing Troublemaker

One of the most dangerous super-bug today is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. And like any superbug available antibiotics today fails to work against its new strains. Knowing these bacteria allows you to be more careful in environments or places where these troublemakers about, and statistically infects people. [Photo: multidrug -resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa]

THE bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) normally resides in soil, water, skin flora, and man-made environments. It can be found regularly on the surfaces of plants, and occasionally, of animals. It is one of the most vigorous, fast-swimming bacteria seen in hay infusions and pond water samples. It is a stranger to the internal parts of the human body, though.

Characteristically PA needs minimal nutrition. It is even often observed growing in distilled water. It grows optimally at room temperature. And it has predilection to grow in moist environments, thriving on biofilms.

Still it is opportunistic. It exploits certain break in the human defenses to initiate infection. In fact, PA almost never infects uncompromised tissues. But if the defenses break down, it can infect almost any part of the body.

Because of that unnatural virulence, PA can cause... [READ MORE]

This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 11 April 2012.

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