Question: what's the worst bacteria?

Rosie Coates answered on 10 Mar 2014:

That’s a good question! There are lots of bacteria that can cause really nasty diseases. Even something like E. coli which is everywhere, even living harmlessly in our gut, can kill someone if it gets in the wrong place or learns to make a really dangerous toxin. In Germany a couple of years ago there was a serious outbreak of food poisoning that was caused by E. coli living on beansprouts that killed 26 people.

My favorite dangerous bacteria (yes, I have a favorite dangerous bacteria… I’m a microbiologist… we’re sad like that…) is Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria will die if it’s exposed to oxygen so sealed jars full of home made pickles and preserves such as gherkins and jam are the perfect place for it to grow. Because of this Clostridium botulinum can sometimes make people very ill with a disease called botulism. The bacteria produces toxins called botulinum toxins which affect your nerves, cause paralysis, loss of consciousness and even death.

The reason this is my favorite dangerous bacteria is because of something you may have heard of; botox. Botox is used by people who want to stop their faces looking wrinkly. They inject it into their faces and it paralyses some of their muscles. Botox is actually just botulinum toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum… I think injecting potentially deadly toxins into your face just to stop a few wrinkles is a very strange and silly thing to do!! What do you think?