What are microbes?

You may have often heard the word virus being used by adults, in connection with illnesses and also the computer. Today, we like to enlighten you about these viruses, not computer viruses, but those that are the root cause of so many diseases. In order to know what a virus is, we must first know what microbes are.

You are bound to be surprised to learn that microbes are microscopic living things found everywhere in this world. They live in the air, in the ground, in water, in plants, and also in human and animal bodies.

But, you will never see them unless you look through a microscope. In fact, no one knew they even existed until the 17th century. Only after the microscope was invented that people knew about microbes and began to study them.

Did you know that microbes have the ability to multiply rapidly? If you leave some fresh milk outside, without putting it into the refrigerator, you may discover that it has curdled after a few hours.

This is because the microbes in the milk have increased into several millions, from just thousands, in this short span of time. Some microbes are called viruses and are known to cause various diseases. More than 1,000 infectious diseases are caused by viruses in humans, animals and plants.

The common cold many of you constantly suffer from, and diseases like chicken pox and measles are all viral diseases.

However, microbes are not all bad. They do have a positive side too. For instance, if not for microbes, waste products such as dead leaves, excrement, stagnant water and refuse or garbage will remain as they are - microbes help get rid of these waste products, over time.

Then, there are some microbes that come in handy in the fermentation process. They are the microbes that play a key role when making cheese, vinegar and yeasts.

Microbes also play an important role in the transformation of foods, during digestion.

We know that microbes have a good and bad impact on our lives. But we need to be more concerned about the many harmful microbes around us. How do you think we could protect ourselves from them? Is there a special drug to use, or armour to wear, you may wonder.

Well, you certainly can protect yourselves from these microbes. But you won’t need to wear special armour - because you already have it on you, from birth - It’s none other than your skin.

The skin provides an efficient barrier against microbes. However, if this barrier is broken, in the form of a graze or a wound, for example, these microbes could enter your body. And what do you think happens then?

If you are familiar with the types of blood cells you have in your body, you will know what white blood cells are. We all have white blood cells in our bodies, some have more than the required amount which leads to illnesses. So, when microbes enter the body, these white blood cells become defensive and start fighting with the microbes. They try to destroy the microbes and this battle often results in....yes, fever!!!

Your body temperature generally rises when there’s an infection in the body. If this infection gets worse, you can be certain that the microbes have defeated the white blood cells.

Apart from this natural defence system, there is an artificial defence system too that you can activate to fight off the microbes. Can you guess what this is? Taking medicines of course. There are certain medicines - antibiotics (such as penicillin), which are very effective in fighting these microbes that invade your body.

Another effective method to do this is by regulating the temperature. Very hot or cold temperatures kill most (not all) microbes. That is why we are asked to boil water before drinking it and preserve our food in a freezer or refrigerator where the normal temperature is altered.

Microbes are harmful. So, be aware of them, at all times.