‘Bacterial vampirism’: Deadly pathogens attracted to human blood, study finds

WATCH: Scientists have discovered that some deadly bacteria are actually able to seek out human blood to feed on. Katherine Ward has more., found that certain bacteria are drawn to the liquid component of blood, known as serum, where they scavenge for essential nutrients.

“This includes a lot of bacteria that people are probably familiar with… E coli and salmonella,” he told Global News.“priority pathogens.” These pathogens belong to a group of 12 bacterial families deemed the most significant threat to human health because of their antibiotic resistance, the WHO stated.

“There are some people that have chronic bleeding within their intestinal tract. These people, including those with inflammatory bowel disease, basically have little cuts inside of their intestines that are bleeding. Potentially that source of blood could be a food source for these pathogens.”Story continues below advertisement

“Bacteria are microscopic organisms and they do not have eyes and they do not have the ability to hear. But they actually do have something analogous to the sense of smell. And so the sense of smell that bacteria have is this behaviour called chemotaxis. A main function of chemotaxis is they look for food,” Baylink said.“So if you can imagine these bacteria are swimming around, they’re using this behaviour called chemotaxis to be able to seek out nutrients.

Blood Infection Health

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Concerns over aerial spraying of bacterial pesticide in West KelownaThe proposed aerial spraying covers an area of 52 hectares with an additional 165-hectare buffer zone, according to a West Kelowna environmental group.
Source: GlobalCalgary - 🏆 50. / 61 Read more »

US officials warn of increase in bacterial illnesses that can lead to meningitis and possibly deathU.S. health officials are warning of an increase in rare bacterial illnesses than can lead to meningitis and possible death.
Source: CP24 - 🏆 30. / 67 Read more »

The Worst Climate Disaster You Haven’t Heard Of Just Got More DeadlyAlexander Kaufman is a senior reporter at HuffPost, based in New York. He covers energy and climate change. A two-time winner of the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award, he has filed stories from the Arctic and the Amazon, Europe and East Asia.
Source: HuffPostCanada - 🏆 61. / 53 Read more »

Putin says the gunmen who carried out deadly concert attack were Islamic extremistsRussian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen who carried out the concert hall attack that killed over 130 people in a Moscow suburb last week were “radical Islamists.
Source: SooToday - 🏆 8. / 85 Read more »

Putin says the gunmen who carried out deadly concert attack were Islamic extremistsRussian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen who carried out the concert hall attack that killed over 130 people in a Moscow suburb last week were “radical Islamists.
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »

Putin says the gunmen who carried out deadly concert attack were Islamic extremistsRussian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen who carried out the concert hall attack that killed over 130 people in a Moscow suburb last week were “radical Islamists.
Source: BurnabyNOW_News - 🏆 14. / 77 Read more »