NEWS NOTES ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCESUSGS Pathogen Researchhttps://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/pathogens-and-other-mi...
Published on by Tim Smith, Employee at Retiree & P/T Consultant
USGS Pathogen Research
https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/pathogens-and-other-microorganisms?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
“Microorganisms are found everywhere in our environment. They are common in the air, soil, water and in the habitats of our daily lives. The vast majority of microorganisms do not cause disease. Instead, they maintain the fertility of soil, they degrade wastes in our landfills and compost piles, and cleanse water of the pollutants we add. We purposefully use some microorganisms to make food (like in cheese, beer, and sauerkraut), we put microorganisms to work in sewage treatment plants, and we use them in biotechnology to produce chemicals.”
“Although some are beneficial, a few microorganisms called pathogens can make animals and humans sick. In order to cause disease, a pathogen must successfully invade some part of the body and either produce more of itself or produce a chemical (usually called a toxin) which interferes with normal body processes. Whether or not a pathogen is successful in causing disease depends on the health of the individual and the state of his or her immune system, as well as to the number of pathogen cells required to make the person ill. Some pathogens can cause disease when only a few cells are present. In other cases, many cells are required to make a person ill. Children and elderly persons are more susceptible to many pathogens than are young or middle-aged adults.”
More information on sustainable water resources is available at https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablewaterresources/