These yellow spheres are Streptococcus pyogenese bacteria bound to a human neutrophil – a key part of the immune system. Streptococcus pyogenese is the bacterium that causes strep throat in humans.
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Visualizing a Sore Throat
These yellow spheres are Streptococcus pyogenese bacteria bound to a human neutrophil – a key part of the immune system. Streptococcus pyogenese is the bacterium that causes strep throat in humans.
What am I looking at?
This is a colored scanning electron microscopy image of Streptococcus pyogenese bacteria being engulfed by a human neutrophil. The bacteria are yellow (1) and the neutrophil is blue/gray (2).
Biology in the background
Strep throat is a very common infection, especially in children. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that there are over 616 million cases of strep throat in the United States each year. While it is not considered a particularly dangerous infection, it can be very painful and sometimes leads to secondary issues like weight loss, dehydration, and pneumonia – which can become dangerous.
Strep throat can generally be treated effectively with antibiotics; symptoms can abate as soon as 24 hours after treatment begins. Even untreated cases of strep are very rarely fatal if they’re not combined with other health issues. A healthy immune system is equipped to handle this infection, with cells like neutrophils responding strongly to an invasion of Streptococcus pyogenese. Neutrophils are among the first cells that respond to such infections, engulfing and destroying the bacteria on contact.
These bacteria can grow up to 1 micrometer across, or roughly 75 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Technique
This image was created using electron microscopy.
Tags
Contributor(s)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH