Business Continuity and the Pandemic Threat

CHAPTER 2: ANATOMY OF A PANDEMIC

2.1 Microorganisms

Believed by microbiologists to have been the earliest form of life to have existed on the planet, single cell microorganisms (aka microbes) can be found in a number of forms including bacterium, fungus, protozoans and viruses. Some microbes are harmless and can be found in everyday life serving a useful purpose. For example, there are those that exist within the human body, such as the bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus that can be found in the intestine and helps us to digest food. Red wine gets some of its flavours and aromas from a bacterium called oenococcus oeni while the production of cheese and yogurt both get a helping hand from bacterium, such as lactobacillus bulgarius and streptococcus ...