Microorganism
Micro-organism is the generic name given all organisms, of any system, which are not visible to the naked eye.
Micro-organisms include bacteria, moulds, protozoans, enzymes and viruses, and represent the lowest form of life.
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BACTERIA
Bacteria, given their microscopic dimensions and low food and enviromental requirements, are the most widespread form of life.
They are present everywhere: land, water, air.
Their morphology is not very differentiated and their form is mainly spherical or rod-shaped.
MOULDS
Moulds are aerobes and require an atmosphere rich in oxygen in order to grow.
Consequently they develop primarly on the surface of contaminated substratas.
Some are parasites of man, animals and plants, and can even cause seriuos damage.
Moulds compared to other living forms have a more differentiated structure, have a cell nucleus and therefore belong to the family of Eucariotes.
Regardless of their taxonomic classification, all fungi whose mycelium is often visible on food, are called mold.
Many microscopic fungi of the genus Aspergillus, Mucor, Pennicillium are generally indicated.
These live like saprofiti on different organic substances, forming with their fruity bodies a dusty efflorescence (mycelium), often presenting green, blue, brown or black colors that characterize moldy Foods.
Molds compared to bacteria survive better than extreme environmental conditions.
They resist decreases in PH and water content or low temperatures, showing less drastic development inhibitions than most bacteria.
Many molds have gained great importance in medicine for their ability to process different chemical compounds (antibiotics) that are highly effective in the treatment of many infectious diseases.
VIRUS
Viruses form a group of forced intracellular parasites. They have a biological organization characterized by a sub-cellular level of structuring as they consist essentially of generic material formed by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a container of a protein nature (capside) having the protect the viral genome.
Viruses do not have systems capable of producing autonomous energy and biosynthetic capabilities and are therefore only able to express their pathogenic power when their genome, introduced into a cell, integrates and completes at the expense of the
host cell.
Viruses have been identified as the agents responsible for some of the desease of man, animals, plants and bacteria themselves (bacteriophagism).
ALLERGENS
The attention given to what we eat and drink must also be given to the air around us.
Dust contains viruses, bacteria, chemical pollutants and mites.
All allergens responsible for respiratory problems are of minute dimensions, microns in size, and thus can remain suspended at length in invisible enviromental dust where we live.
Sneezing, stuffy nose, red watering eyes, difficult breathing and headaches are the typical signs of allergies from both pollen and dust.
The fact that the feces of mites are rich in allergens has moved the attention of researchers from the mites themselves to their excrements and has posed the problem of determining the allergenic power of micro- environments. In fact both mites and their debris are rarely present in suspended air, but particles of their feces are abundant.
During normal breathing these particles present in the air are inhaled and enter deeply into the lungs and bronchial tubes.
There exists a correlation between the level of airbound allergens inhaled and the incidence of allergic manifestations.