Bacteria are present all around us. A few of them are beneficial, while others are pathogenic. The word pathogenic denotes the ones that are disease-causing. The following HealthHearty article provides you information on bacteria and help you learn their names through the given list.
Bacteria are found everywhere in the world, be it air, water, food, soil, deep into the oceans, or even on the top of Mt. Everest for that matter. There are different types of bacteria present all over the human body, and even within it. The ones that reside inside the human body (digestive system) are called good bacteria. They help control the growth of pathogenic bacteria and also help the immune system fight any infection. Many bacteria contain enzymes that help in breaking down chemical bonds in the food that we consume, helping us receive optimum nutrition.
Bacteria that grow on the human body without causing any disease or infection are known as the colonizing bacteria. Often a cut on the skin or an injury results in breakage or opening of the skin barrier, which leads to some opportunistic pathogens gaining entry into the body. If the person is healthy and has a strong immune system, it fights off the unwanted entrants. However, if a person is weak, it results in development of a disease caused by bacteria. These bacteria that cause health problems are called human pathogenic bacteria. These disease-causing bacteria can also gain entry into the body through food, water, air, saliva, and other body fluids. Given below is a list of pathogenic bacteria along with the diseases they cause.
Infectious Bacteria List
| Human Pathogenic Bacteria | Pathogenic Disease |
| Bacillus anthracis | • Cutaneous anthrax • Pulmonary anthrax • Gastrointestinal anthrax |
| Bordetella pertussis | • Whooping cough • Secondary bacterial pneumonia (Complication) • Pertussis |
| Borrelia burgdorferi | Lyme disease |
| • Brucella abortus • Brucella canis • Brucella melitensis • Brucella suis |
Brucellosis |
| Campylobacter jejuni | Gastroenteritis |
| Chlamydia pneumoniae | Community-acquired respiratory infection (Pneumonia) |
| Chlamydia psittaci | Psittacosis |
| Chlamydia trachomatis | • Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) • Trachoma • Inclusion conjunctivitis of the newborn (ICN) • Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) |
| Clostridium botulinum | Botulism |
| Clostridium difficile | Pseudomembranous colitis |
| Clostridium perfringens | • Gas gangrene • Acute food poisoning • Anaerobic cellulitis |
| Clostridium tetani | Tetanus |
| Corynebacterium diphtheriae | Diphtheria |
| • Enterococcus faecalis • Enterococcus faecium |
Nosocomial infections |
| Escherichia coli | • Urinary tract infections (UTI) • Diarrhea |
| Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) | Traveler’s diarrhea |
| Enteropathogenic E. coli | Diarrhea in infants |
| E. coli (O157:H7) | • Hemorrhagic colitis • Hemolytic-uremic syndrome |
| Francisella tularensis | Tularemia |
| Haemophilus influenzae | • Bacterial meningitis • Upper respiratory tract infections • Pneumonia • Bronchitis • Arthritis • Otitis media • Pericarditis |
| Helicobacter pylori | • Peptic ulcer • Risk factor for gastric carcinoma • Gastric B-cell lymphoma |
| Legionella pneumophila | • Legionellosis • Legion fever |
| Leptospira interrogans | Leptospirosis |
| Listeria monocytogenes | Listeriosis |
| Mycobacterium leprae | Leprosy |
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis | Tuberculosis |
| Mycoplasma pneumoniae | Mycoplasma pneumonia |
| Neisseria gonorrhoeae | • Gonorrhea • Septic arthritis |
| Neisseria meningitidis | • Meningococcal diseases including meningitis • Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | • Localized infection of eye, ear, skin, urinary, respiratory • Gastrointestinal tract infection • Central Nervous System infection • Systemic infection with bacteremia • Secondary pneumonia • Bone and joint infections • Endocarditis |
| Rickettsia rickettsii | Rocky mountain spotted fever |
| Salmonella typhi | • Typhoid fever – type salmonellosis • Dysentery • Colitis |
| Salmonella typhimurium | Salmonellosis with gastroenteritis and enterocolitis |
| Shigella sonnei | Bacillary dysentery/Shigellosis |
| Staphylococcus aureusa | Coagulase-positive staphylococcal infections: • Localized skin infections • Diffuse skin infection (Impetigo) • Deep, localized infections • Acute infective endocarditis • Septicemia • Necrotizing pneumonia • Toxinoses • Toxic shock syndrome • Staphylococcal food poisoning |
| Staphylococcus epidermidis | Infections of implanted prostheses e.g. heart valves and catheters |
| Staphylococcus saprophyticus | Cystitis in women |
| Streptococcus agalactiae | • Meningitis and septicemia in neonates • Postpartum infection |
| Streptococcus pneumoniae | • Acute bacterial pneumonia & meningitis in adults • Otitis media and sinusitis in children |
| Streptococcus pyogenes | • Streptococcal pharyngitis • Scarlet fever • Tonsillitis • Rheumatic fever • Impetigo and erysipelas • Puerperal fever • Cellulitis • Necrotizing fasciitis |
| Treponema pallidum | • Yaws • Bejel • Congenital syphilis |
| Vibrio cholerae | Cholera |
| Yersinia pestis | • Plague • Bubonic plague • Pneumonic plague |
Examples of Commonly Occurring Pathogenic Bacteria
Streptococcus
This is a common bacteria present in the human body. However, some strains of streptococci can cause many human diseases. The human pathogenic bacteria like Streptococcus pyogenes (strep group A) causes bacterial pharyngitis, also called strep throat. Strep throat that is not treated soon may lead to rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis. The other infections include impetigo and, worst of all, necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bacteria).
Staphylococcus
The most common human pathogenic bacteria is Staphylococcus, particularly Staphylococcus aureus. Staph is present on the skin and in the mucous membranes. When it gets an opportunity, it does not shy away from causing superficial and systemic infections. The examples of pathogenic diseases by this bacteria include boils, impetigo, and folliculitis. It can also cause serious infections such as pneumonia, bacteremia, wounds, and bones. There are several toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus that lead to food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
The other examples of pathogenic diseases include:
- Gonorrhea
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Ear Infections
- Dysentery
- Septicemia
- Toxinoses
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Botulism
This was a pathogenic bacteria list followed by the examples of pathogenic diseases. Human pathogenic bacteria can lead to many serious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. You may have heard of black plague of the Middle Ages that was caused by the backteria Yersinia pestis. This was considered the deadliest pandemic in human history. With the development of personal hygiene and cleanliness, the occurrences of epidemics and pandemics have decreased significantly over the recent years.
