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Human microbiota are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea) found in a specific environment. They can be found in the stomach, intestines, skin, genitals and other parts of the body. [1] Various body parts have diverse microorganisms. Some microbes are specific to certain body parts and others are associated with many microbiomes.
Graphic depicting the human skin microbiota, with relative prevalences of various classes of bacteria. The human microbiome is the aggregate of all microbiota that reside on or within human tissues and biofluids along with the corresponding anatomical sites in which they reside, [1] [2] including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, mammary glands, seminal fluid, uterus, ovarian follicles, lung ...
Although the vast majority of bacteria are harmless or beneficial to one's body, a few pathogenic bacteria can cause infectious diseases. The most common bacterial disease is tuberculosis , caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis , which affects about 2 million people mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The project was designed with the aim of countering that misconception that bacteria are always harmful to humans [20] and that humans are at war with bacteria. [21] In actuality, most strains of bacteria are harmless [13] if not beneficial for the human body. [22] Another of the project's goals is to foster public interest in microbiology. [17]
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. [1] This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and many are beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of these pathogenic species in humans is estimated to be fewer than a hundred. [2]
Immunocompromised individuals are especially vulnerable to bacteria that are typically nonpathogenic; because of a compromised immune system, disease occurs when these bacteria gain access to the body's interior. Genes have been identified that predispose disease and infection with nonpathogenic bacteria by a small number of persons. [3]
Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotes that range in size from 0.15 and 700 μM. [14] While the vast majority are either harmless or beneficial to their hosts, such as members of the human gut microbiome that support digestion, a small percentage are pathogenic and cause infectious diseases.
These bacteria are mostly harmless or even beneficial to humans. [6] For example, some strains of E. coli benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K 2 [ 7 ] or by preventing the colonization of the intestine by harmful pathogenic bacteria .