Environmental Microbiology, Soil Microbiology & Microbial Biogeochemistry

Public Health Microbiology

Public Health Microbiology is a branch of healthcare concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various clinical applications of microbes for the improvement of health. There are four kinds of microorganisms that cause infectious disease: bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses.

A healthcare microbiologist studies the characteristics of pathogens, their modes of transmission, mechanisms of infection and growth. Using this information a treatment can be devised. Infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. The pathogen that causes the disease may be exogenous (acquired from an external source; environmental, animal or other people, e.g. Influenza) or endogenous (from normal flora e.g. candidiasis). The site at which a microbe enters the body is referred to as the portal of entry. These include the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, skin, and mucous membranes. The portal of entry for a specific microbe is normally dependent on how it travels from its natural habitat to the host.

The mechanisms of infection, proliferation, and persistence of a virus in cells of the host are crucial for its survival. Once an infection has been diagnosed and identified, suitable treatment options must be assessed by the physician and consulting medical microbiologists. Some infections can be dealt with by the body’s own immune system, but more serious infections are treated with antimicrobial drugs. Bacterial infections are treated with antibacterial (often called antibiotics).