Bacterial Disease

bacterial disease, any of a variety of illnesses caused by bacteria. Until the mid-20th century, bacterial pneumonia was probably the leading cause of death among the elderly. Improved sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics have all decreased the mortality rates from bacterial infections, though antibiotic-resistant strains have caused a resurgence in some illnesses. In the early 21st century, tuberculosis, which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis—several strains of which had developed resistance to one or more drugs widely used to treat the infection—was among the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide.

Bacteria cause disease by secreting or excreting toxins (as in botulism), by producing toxins internally, which are released when the bacteria disintegrate (as in typhoid), or by inducing sensitivity to their antigenic properties (as in tuberculosis). Other serious bacterial diseases include cholera, diphtheria, bacterial meningitis, tetanus, Lyme disease, gonorrhea, and syphilis.