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When to Call Your Doctor... |
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Call your doctor if you experience the following symptoms:
Fever of 102 or greater
Thick, greenish mucus
Severe headache
Stiff neck
Sudden onset of symptoms
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Overview
Definition
Bacteria are the oldest and most abundant organisms on earth. Bacterial cells are smaller than the human red blood cell. Unlike human and animal cells, they lack a nucleus (the central living part of the cell). Like plant cells, bacteria are surrounded by a carbohydrate cell wall. Bacterial species are responsible for many of the world's infectious diseases. Unlike viruses, which also cause infections, bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics that kill them or disable their growth or reproduction.
Bacteria are both helpful hosts and harmful sources of disease. In the large intestine, native bacteria aid in digestion and prevent the build-up of other toxic bacterial species.
More on Bacterial Infections What Are Bacteria?
Is It an Allergy or Sinusitis?
What Is Bell's Palsy?
The Facts About Tuberculosis
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Your Child's Sore Throat: Knowing When It's Strep or Tonsillitis
In the Encyclopedia: Abscess incision & drainage
Nocardiosis
X-linked agammaglobulinemia
Aminoglycosides
Anaerobic infections
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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