How do anaerobic bacteria survive

Tetanus usually develops after a wound or Often, several species of anaerobic bacteria are present in infected tissues. Aerobic bacteria are frequently also present. Infections with more than one species of anaerobic bacteria or anaerobic and aerobic bacteria are called mixed anaerobic infections. Merck and Co. From developing new therapies that treat and prevent disease to helping people in need, we are committed to improving health and well-being around the world.

The Manual was first published in as a service to the community. Learn more about our commitment to Global Medical Knowledge. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. Common Health Topics. Bacterial Infections: Anaerobic Bacteria. Clostridioides formerly Clostridium difficile -Induced Colitis. Test your knowledge. Dengue is a viral infection that causes fever, aches throughout the body, and, in severe cases, bleeding in multiple areas.

How is the dengue virus transmitted? More Content. Aerobes: Those that need oxygen. We use oxygen as a place to dump the electrons we have left over at the end of the electron transport chain that makes ATP. Theres more than one way to get rid of electrons, though. Some bacteria use nitrate NO 3. Others use sulfate SO 4. Some even use bicarbonate HCO 3.

So theres nothing magical about oxygen, other organisms do fine without it. Oxygen even interferes with some of these pathways, killing the bacteria that use them. If you are interested in bacteria, think about studying microbiology. We know so little about them that there are many amazing species left to find. Imagine being the first person to study all of the animals on an entire continent. Microbiology is still like that. For most organisms, they use oxygen during cellular respiration as an electron acceptor.

Basically, the oxygen accepts electrons and turns into water H 2 0 or carbon dioxide CO 2. Obligate anaerobic bacteria survive in the absence of oxygen because they use other molecules as their primary electron acceptors. Anaerobe Laboratory Manual , 4th ed.

Taxonomy of anaerobes: Present state of the art. Kurzynski, T. Anaerobically incubated thioglycolate broth disc method for antibiotic susceptibility testing of anaerobes. Agents Chemother. Lyerly, D. Enzyme-linked immunosor-bent assay for Clostridium difficile toxin A. Rosenblatt, J. Compari-son of antibiotic susceptibility results obtained by different methods. Reevaluation of current methods for incubation of anaerobes. In Tilton R.

Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology. Washington, D. Laboratory diagnosis of antimicrobial associated diarrhea. In Coonrod J. Rotile, C. Microdilution technique for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria. Smith, L. The Pathogenic Anaerobic Bacteria , 2nd ed. Springfield, Illi-nois, Charles C Thomas, Sutter, V. Collaborative evaluation of a proposed reference dilution method of susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria.

Wadsworth Anaerobic Bacte-riology Manual , 3rd ed. Louis, C. Mosby Co. Wilkins, T.