Interactive catalogue
Browse profiles.
Choose an organism to open its profile, illustrative model, and sources. Bacterial and viral libraries cover organisms relevant to humans.
Bacteria
48 human-focused profiles
- Acinetobacter baumanniiA hardy hospital bacterium that often just sits on skin or equipment but can cause hard-to-treat infections in intensive care.
- Akkermansia muciniphilaA mucus-layer specialist that lives on mucin and is present in most healthy adults.
- Bacillus anthracisA spore-forming soil bacterium of grazing animals that causes anthrax in people who handle infected animals or their products.
- Bacteroides fragilisA small share of the gut community that helps ferment carbohydrates, and the anaerobe most often isolated from infections.
- Bifidobacterium longumA gut resident with roles in breaking down carbohydrates.
- Bordetella pertussisThe whooping cough bacterium: a cold-like start that can turn into weeks of coughing fits.
- Borrelia burgdorferiThe corkscrew-shaped bacterium behind Lyme disease, carried by ticks rather than passed between people.
- Brucella melitensisA goat-and-sheep bacterium that reaches people through unpasteurised dairy and causes a long, relapsing fever.
- Campylobacter jejuniA spiral gut pathogen and one of the most common causes of diarrheal illness, often traced to poultry.
- Chlamydia trachomatisAn obligate intracellular bacterium behind both the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and its most reported bacterial STI.
- Clostridioides difficileA spore-forming bacterium with distinct colonization and infection states.
- Clostridium botulinumA spore-forming bacterium whose toxin causes botulism — rare, preventable and a medical emergency when it happens.
- Clostridium perfringensA fast-growing anaerobe behind one of the commonest causes of food poisoning, and behind gas gangrene in damaged tissue.
- Clostridium tetaniA soil bacterium whose toxin causes tetanus — an illness you cannot catch from another person and that vaccination prevents.
- Corynebacterium diphtheriaeThe diphtheria bacterium: illness comes from a toxin that only some strains produce.
- Coxiella burnetiiA tough, inhaled bacterium of farm animals that causes Q fever — usually a flu-like illness, occasionally a long one.
- Cutibacterium acnesThe most abundant bacterium on healthy oily skin, and a contributor to skin balance rather than simply a cause of acne.
- Enterococcus faecalisA normal gut resident found in most people, and an opportunist in urine, wounds and the bloodstream.
- Enterococcus faeciumA normal gut resident that has become one of the harder hospital organisms to treat.
- Escherichia coliMany strains are harmless residents. Some cause diarrheal illness.
- Faecalibacterium prausnitziiOne of the most abundant gut bacteria in healthy adults, and a major supplier of butyrate to the colon.
- Francisella tularensisA rabbit-and-rodent bacterium so infectious that a handful of cells can cause illness, yet it is not passed between people.
- Haemophilus influenzaeA common nose and throat resident that can also cause ear, lung, bloodstream and meningeal infection.
- Helicobacter pyloriA stomach colonizer associated with inflammation and ulcer disease.
- Klebsiella pneumoniaeA gut resident that turns opportunist in healthcare settings, and a focus of carbapenem-resistance concern.
- Lactobacillus crispatusA lactic-acid-producing resident that dominates one of the most common and most acidic vaginal community types.
- Legionella pneumophilaA water-system bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease when contaminated mist is breathed in.
- Leptospira interrogansA hook-ended spirochete spread through animal urine in water and soil, causing everything from a flu-like week to organ failure.
- Listeria monocytogenesA foodborne bacterium that most people shrug off but that can cause severe illness in pregnancy, newborns and older adults.
- Mycobacterium lepraeThe bacterium of leprosy: slow, curable, and far less contagious than its history suggests.
- Mycobacterium tuberculosisThe bacterium behind TB. Active disease differs from latent infection.
- Mycoplasma pneumoniaeA wall-less bacterium that causes chest colds and the mild pneumonia people often keep walking around with.
- Neisseria gonorrhoeaeA human-only bacterium that causes gonorrhoea and very often produces no symptoms at all.
- Neisseria meningitidisMeningococci can be carried in the back of the nose and throat without illness.
- Pseudomonas aeruginosaAn environmental water-and-soil bacterium that mainly causes infections in hospital patients and damaged lungs.
- Rickettsia rickettsiiA tick-borne bacterium that lives inside cells and causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, where treatment delay is the main danger.
- Salmonella entericaA species of thousands of serotypes; the non-typhoidal ones are a leading cause of food-related diarrheal illness.
- Shigella flexneriA dysentery bacterium that needs only a tiny dose; the leading Shigella species in lower-income settings.
- Staphylococcus aureusOften carried without harm; infections can become serious.
- Staphylococcus epidermidisThe most common bacterium on human skin, and the most common source of medical-device infections.
- Streptococcus agalactiaeA common gut and genital-tract resident in adults that occasionally causes serious infection in newborns.
- Streptococcus mutansA mouth resident strongly associated with tooth decay — though decay has more causes than one bacterium.
- Streptococcus pneumoniaePneumococci can live in the nose and throat without causing illness.
- Streptococcus pyogenesGroup A Streptococcus: a throat and skin organism behind strep throat, scarlet fever, impetigo and rare severe infections.
- Treponema pallidumThe spiral bacterium behind syphilis, an infection that moves through stages and can go quiet for years.
- Vibrio choleraeStrain-dependent intestinal illness, sometimes causing rapid dehydration.
- Yersinia enterocoliticaA cold-tolerant gut pathogen, often traced to pork, whose pain can be mistaken for appendicitis.
- Yersinia pestisThe plague bacterium: a rodent-and-flea organism that still causes a few thousand human cases a decade, mostly in three countries.
Viruses
23 human-focused profiles
- Chikungunya virusA mosquito-borne fever whose joint pain can last long after it.
- Dengue virusA mosquito-borne fever that is usually mild but can turn severe fast.
- Ebola virusesA rare but severe illness caused by several related viruses.
- Epstein-Barr virusOne of the most common human viruses; the usual cause of mono.
- Hepatitis A virusA liver infection spread through contaminated food, water or close contact.
- Hepatitis B virusA liver virus that can become a long-term, often silent infection.
- Hepatitis C virusA bloodborne liver virus that is often silent and now usually curable.
- Herpes simplex virusesTwo related viruses that cause cold sores or genital herpes and stay for life.
- Human cytomegalovirusA common virus that usually stays silent but matters in pregnancy.
- Human immunodeficiency virusA virus that attacks the immune system and is managed with lifelong treatment.
- Human influenza virusesRespiratory viruses with illness ranging from mild to severe.
- Human norovirusesViruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in people.
- Human papillomavirusesA very common group of viruses; a few types can lead to cancers.
- Measles morbillivirusA highly contagious airborne virus that causes fever and a spreading rash.
- Mumps orthorubulavirusA contagious virus best known for a swollen jaw and puffy cheeks.
- PoliovirusA mostly silent gut infection that can paralyse a small share of those infected.
- Rabies virusA virus that is preventable after exposure but fatal once symptoms begin.
- Respiratory syncytial virusA common respiratory virus that is mild for most but serious for infants and older adults.
- RotavirusesThe classic cause of severe watery diarrhoea in infants and young children.
- Rubella virusUsually a mild rash illness, but a serious infection during pregnancy.
- SARS-CoV-2The virus that causes COVID-19, with a variable clinical course.
- Varicella-zoster virusOne virus behind two illnesses: chickenpox first, shingles later.
- Zika virusA mosquito-borne virus that is usually mild but serious in pregnancy.
Fungi
10 human-focused profiles
- Aspergillus fumigatusAn environmental mould associated with several forms of aspergillosis.
- Candida albicansA budding yeast that can live on mucosal surfaces and can also cause candidiasis.
- Candida parapsilosisA yeast associated with human candidiasis, represented by budding cells and branching pseudohyphae.
- Candidozyma aurisFormerly Candida auris, a yeast associated with healthcare settings and invasive infection.
- Cryptococcus neoformansAn encapsulated yeast associated with lung infection and cryptococcal meningitis.
- Epidermophyton floccosumA human-associated dermatophyte affecting skin and nails, with characteristic clustered macroconidia.
- Malassezia furfurA skin-associated yeast linked with pityriasis versicolor and other Malassezia-associated skin conditions.
- Microsporum canisAn animal-associated dermatophyte that can also cause ringworm in humans.
- Nakaseomyces glabratusFormerly Candida glabrata, a small budding yeast with both carriage and opportunistic infection contexts.
- Trichophyton rubrumA human-associated dermatophyte that commonly causes skin and nail infections.
Parasites
5 human-focused profiles
- Ascaris lumbricoidesA large intestinal roundworm with eggs, migrating larvae and adult stages.
- Entamoeba histolyticaAn intestinal amoeba that can cause amebiasis, including invasive intestinal disease.
- Enterobius vermicularisThe human pinworm, a small intestinal roundworm often associated with nighttime itching.
- Giardia duodenalisAn intestinal protozoan with a flagellated feeding form and a separate cyst form.
- Trichomonas vaginalisA flagellated protozoan that causes trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted infection.
Bundled educational snapshot. Profiles, illustrations, and figures are under ongoing scientific review.