The germ who came to dinner (1978) Pt. 1 of 3

[Music] volcanoes earthquakes and hurricans all these show nature at its most violent causing great damage and hardship but they also release another Menace Rescue Services can give immediate help to the victims of these disasters but urgent vaccination programs are frequently needed as well to prevent an even greater loss of life one of the most serious consequences of the disruption caused is the breakdown in sanitation we often forget that our lives are made safe by many complex hygienic measures clean Clear Water we take it for granted but but first it must be thoroughly filtered before corination was introduced water used to be a major source of disease sewage is also thoroughly treated step by step it gets cleaner all the time this affluent is rather different from the raw sewage that used to contaminate our water supplies our milk is heat treated and packed into clean bottles and cartons was formerly a dangerous carrier of tuberculosis and other diseases the large scale production of anything we eat and drink requires the manufacturer to take extensive safety precautions on our behalf however despite all this effort many of us still go down with food born diseases unfortunately it's not enough to rely on other people we also have a part to play not all of us live in fear of volcanoes or Hurrican but each and every one of us is affected by some of the tiniest of Nature's Creations the bacteria so what are bacteria strangely enough they're plants of course the grasses flowers and trees are well known to all of us less familiar are the lyans growing on wood and stone or the green algae which living in our streams but there is another world of plants a microscopic world of molds and smaller still of bacteria a colony of millions would only be the size of a pin head yet they're all living organisms individuals in their own right bacteria come in a diversity of shapes and sizes however they're all quite simple organisms they're often referred to as germs because because many people think of them as harmful but some are useful to us without the microbe acabaca these bottles of vinegar could not have been made the bacterium lactobacillus was essential to the ripening of these cheeses but others do cause disease and a few poison food even a child can be taught that raspberries are good to eat and deadly nightshade is dead dangerous but how is a cook to keep harmful bacteria away from food if we cannot see or even smell them in fact it's not that difficult once you know a little about them of course bacteria also have to eat they just take in the chemicals they need through their cell walls because they're such simple organisms they cannot actively search for food they always need help to get from place to place but once they are there the trouble starts because they also release chemicals into their surroundings some of these can be extremely poisonous to us in even the smallest quantities and they're called toxins many bacteria like the same kind of food as we do the harmful ones may release their toxins into the food or they may wait until they're inside us either way a little chewing won't affect them in the least and any that are able to survive the acid in our stomachs will flourish in our intestines to cause the illness we call food poisoning like us they know what's good for [Music] them they particularly like all kinds of meat [Music] fish and poultry it's the protein in these foods that they thrive on so these are the ones we have to protect most if the conditions are right they breed it's another simple process they just divide into two but bacteria are nature's fast breeders given an ideal environment within 11 hours one solid microb can have quite a family 8,000 million descendants that's twice the human population of the world it's taken us thousands of [Music] years as a result there are bacteria everywhere in the soil dust houses factories Farms in streams and in the air because they're so tiny they can Lodge anywhere a fly's foot would seem a mighty plane thousands could be picked up or shed with every step bacteria cannot move on their own they depend on being carried by other things these cockroaches for example are by no means choosy about what they eat a nice bit of cream now but what were they on before if they're carrying bacteria each of these little Footprints could be the start of a flourishing Colony mice will spread bacteria as well so the answer is to keep all Vermin away from food environmental health officers have the power to close commercial premises infested with vermin