It is even added to socks to help control bacteria-related foot odor.

FORBES: Gold Is Good, These Five Metals May Be Better

The average life expectancy for a cystic fibrosis patient is only 30 years, and most constantly take antibiotics to control bacteria, in addition to regular physiotherapy to loosen and disperse mucus from the lungs.

BBC: Sugar spray 'prevents lung infections'

Professor Philip Marsh, of the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, said it should be possible to control the environment in the mouth more effectively to stop the good bacteria being killed off, and to modify the conditions that favour the growth of the harmful organisms.

BBC: Dental bacteria swap resistance

Each year about 76, 000 people get Linda Rivera's strain of bacteria -- E. coli O157-- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The Centers for Disease Control says five people have died from infection with Vibrio vulnificus, a form of the bacteria that causes cholera.

CNN

The dishes are then flown back to the control boat where they are sealed and taken to be analysed in a laboratory to identify particular pathogens - bacteria, viruses, fungi.

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