Word: pneumococcus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
They have many other ways of picking up genes as well. The DNA can come from viruses, which have acquired it while infecting other microbes. Some types of pneumococcus, which causes a form of pneumonia, even indulge in a microbial version of necrophilia by soaking up DNA that spills out of dead or dying bacteria. This versatility means bacteria can acquire useful traits without having to wait for mutations in the immediate family...
...fight the real thing. Each person's immune system is chemically different from everyone else's, so it's very difficult for a bacterium to develop a shield that offers universal protection. Diphtheria and tetanus can be prevented by vaccines if they are used properly. A vaccine against the pneumococcus bacterium has recently come out of the lab as well, and scientists expect to test one that targets streptococcus A within a year...
...care centers provide another setting that amplifies microbial mischief. & In 1989, for instance, eight children in a center near Cleveland, Ohio, came down with chronic middle-ear infections caused by the same antibiotic- resistant strain of pneumococcus. Subsequent throat swabs revealed that 50 of the 250 children enrolled at the center had been infected but had not yet shown symptoms. Such outbreaks could have serious consequences: recurrent middle-ear infections can impair hearing, and pneumococcus can also cause meningitis and bacteremia, an infection of the blood that may spread to the joints, heart and even the brain. In the Third...