• Question: how does bacteria become so infectious and poisonous to the human body?

    Asked by abigail123 to Paul on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Paul Waines

      Paul Waines answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Hi abigail123- some bacteria do this by producing toxic substances, and others, like Salmonella, actually destroy cells in order to eat their contents. Viruses actually destroy cells too by hijacking them and making them make more viruses.
      In both cases, a battle then develops between the body’s immune system, and the bacteria. The bacteria want to live and grow, and the immune system wants to get rid of them- this is what we know as ‘infection’. The body normally wins but you can feel pretty awful while this battle is going on…

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