The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Microbial pathogens are microorganisms that are capable of producing disease. Virtually all groups of bacteria have some members that are pathogens. One notable exception is the Kingdom Archaea, where there are no known pathogenic members. Other disease-causing microbial agents are viruses and parasitic protozoa. Earlier methods of detecting and identifying microbial pathogens involved culturing and isolating bacterial colonies in growth media in the lab. With the advent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, identification of microorganisms that were difficult or impossible to culture became possible. Many microbial pathogens can be controlled with antimicrobial drugs called antibiotics. However, these drugs are not effective against viruses or parasites, and indiscriminant use may cause resistant strains of pathogens to evolve. Antibiotic resistance has resulted in the reemergence of several disease, and as of 2002, most of the major bacterial diseases that infect humans are becoming resistant to antibiotics.