Are protozoa bacteria or virus

Fungi FUN-guy are multicelled, plant-like organisms. A fungus gets nutrition from plants, food, and animals in damp, warm environments. Many fungal infections, such as athlete's foot and yeast infections , are not dangerous in a healthy person. People with weak immune systems from diseases like HIV or cancer , though, may get more serious fungal infections. Protozoa pro-toe-ZO-uh are one-celled organisms, like bacteria. But they are bigger than bacteria and contain a nucleus and other cell structures, making them more like plant and animal cells.

Protozoa love moisture. So intestinal infections and other diseases they cause, like amebiasis and giardiasis , often spread through contaminated water. Some protozoa are parasites. In most cases, the viruses cause mild flu-like symptoms, but can lead to more serious infections. The good news is that there are some simple ways to protect yourself from being infected. Find out how. Simple precautions can help protect your kids from becoming infected. When skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection.

But good hygiene can prevent many staph infections. Learn more. Find out how to protect yourself. The germs that get into food and cause food poisoning are tiny, but can have a powerful effect on the body.

Find out what to do if you get food poisoning — and how to prevent it. Taking antibiotics too often or for the wrong reason has led to a dangerous rise in bacteria that no longer respond to medicine. Find out what you can do to prevent antibiotic overuse. Read this article to learn more. Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating contaminated food. It mostly affects pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems.

You know they can hurt you, but what are these invisible creatures? Find out in this article for kids. An abscess is a sign of an infection, usually on the skin. Find out what to do if your child develops one. Why is food safety important? Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Drinking Water. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Protozoa — Cryptosporidium Potential health effects from ingestion of water contaminated with Cryptosporidium are: Gastrointestinal illness for example, diarrhea, vomiting, cramps.

Sources of Cryptosporidium in drinking water are: Human and animal fecal waste. Protozoa — Giardia intestinalis also known as Giardia lamblia Potential health effects from ingestion of water contaminated with Giardia are: Gastrointestinal illness for example, diarrhea, vomiting, cramps. Sources of Giardia in drinking water are: Human and animal fecal waste. Bacteria — for example, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E.

Sources of bacteria in drinking water are: Human and animal fecal waste. In general, viral infections are systemic, involving many different parts of the body at the same time; i. Antibacterial, antimycotic, and antiviral drugs have been developed that generally function by blocking bacteria, fungi, and viruses from replicating and surviving. Penicillin as an antibacterial, for instance, functions by inhibiting synthesis of bacterial cell walls.

Examples of penicillin drugs include amoxicillin and ampicillin. Bacteria constantly try to rebuild their peptidoglycan cell wall. Penicillin blocks the formation of peptidoglycan cross-links in the cell wall. As a consequence, transpeptidase cannot catalyze formation of these cross-links. The imbalance between cell wall production and degradation causes the bacteria cells to rapidly die.

Streptomycin or streptomycin sulfate is an antibacterial; it is a ribosome protein synthesis inhibitor. It binds to the small ribosomal RNA rRNA , 30S component of the bacterial ribosome causing codon misreading, eventual inhibition of protein synthesis and bacterial replication, and ultimately death of bacterial cells.

Humans have structurally very different ribosomes from bacteria, thereby allowing the selectivity of this antibiotic for bacteria. Tetracycline is an antibacterial that also functions by binding the small, 30S, bacterial ribosome, and blocking codon reading and bacterial replication. A third type of antibacterial is fluoroquinolones.

These include drugs such as Cipro and Levaquin. These are synthetic, bactericidal antibacterial agents with broad-spectrum activity. They inhibit the enzyme topoisomerase II, a DNA gyrase that is necessary for the replication of the microorganism. Topoisomerase II enzyme produces a negative supercoil on DNA, permitting transcription or replication and thereby inhibiting enzyme DNA replication and transcription.

Blocking transcription blocks any possibility of replication. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target microbe; in its place they inhibit their progress and development of viruses.