The many ways of killing bacteria

This basic first aid kit contains iodine (in a bottle on right) and ethyl alcohol swabs (next to the iodine) for quick disinfection of the skin. — Photos: Filepic

Before we learn how to kill bacteria, we should know what bacteria are and why we need to kill them. Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotic microorganisms found mostly under the Eubacteria kingdom in the Linnaeus classification.

A prokaryotic organism does not have a nucleus or membrane-bound organelles in its cells. In contrast, humans, animals and plants are all eukaryotic organisms that have nuclei and membrane-bound organelles in their cells.