<em>Leptospira interrogansis</em> b/w <em>Leptospira interrogansis</em>

Leptospira interrogansis

A spiral-shaped bacterium which causes leptospirosis (also known as Weil's disease). Leptospirosis is transmitted via direct contact with the body fluid of an infected animal or by exposure to soil or fresh water contaminated with the urine from an infected animal. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, conjunctivitis and muscular pains. Kidney failure may also occur in severe cases.

Microbes and food

The microbes associated with our food tend to have a bad name – food poisoning is often in the news.

Yet while some make us ill and others can be a nuisance by spoiling our food, without the activities of microbes there would no bread, cheese, beer or chocolate. Friend or foe – food microbes are always on the menu.

A Petri dish containing a culture of Bacillus cereus bacteria

Food Poisoning

There are probably at least a million cases of microbial food poisoning in the UK every year costing an estimated £1.5b a year – how can anything as small as a microbe cause all this trouble?

Campylobacter jejuni, a common cause of food poisoning

Spoilers

When microbes grow on food it soon begins to smell nasty, look slimy, change colour, taste awful or even get a furry coating and is inedible. Find out what’s causing this.

Streptococcus thermophilus (orange spherical cells) and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (blue rod-shaped cells)

Producers

Microbes ferment sugar to make energy for themselves - luckily for us foods like bread and yoghurt can be made by microbial fermentations

Truffle

A rare and edible fungus - discover where it grows.

Bifidobacterium

Discover how this bacterium can help keep the gut healthy.