Marine bacteria: The conventional measure of pollution in the marine environment is the presence of bacteria associated with human sewage. The intestinal coliform bacteria, E. coli, can indicate recent releases of untreated wastewater. Harmful organisms associated with sewage include many different bacteria, viruses, and other organisms that may cause infections in swimmers or people who eat contaminated fish or shellfish. Staph: Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen responsible for a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals, including endocarditis, osteomyelitis, wound infections and mastitis. To interact successfully with the host, the bacterium has a large repertoire of components such as extracellular enzymes and toxins, as well as cell-wall-bound and secreted proteins that bind to proteins in host serum and extracellular matrix (Lowy, 1998 ). Proteins of microbial origin, cell-bound or soluble, which bind to mammalian proteins are generally considered as putative virulence factors and several such proteins from S. aureus have been molecularly characterized (Smeltzer, 2000 ). It should be noted that the outcome of virulence studies seems to be dependent on the animal model employed (Coulter et al., 1998 ; Darouiche et al., 1997 ). Nevertheless, studies of virulence in various animal models, with isogenic S. aureus mutants lacking a specific gene, have in several cases established the importance of a certain bacterial protein binding to a host protein, for some types of S. aureus infections. For example, the fibrinogen-binding proteins Efb (Palma et al., 1996 ) and ClfA (Moreillon et al., 1995 ), the collagen-binding protein Cna (Hienz et al., 1996 ; Patti et al., 1994 ; Rhem et al., 2000 ) and the IgG-binding protein A (Gemmell et al., 1997 ; Patel et al., 1987 ) are commonly considered as virulence factors. Further, a recent study showed that protein A also binds von Willebrand factor (Hartleib et al., 2000 ). Interestingly, in a vascular disease (Kawasaki disease) with symptoms and epidemiology overlapping with staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome, high protein A production was observed in the S. aureus strains isolated. This feature of the bacteria could possibly contribute to the pathological picture of this disease, with disturbed host haemostasis and an increased risk of vascular thrombosis. Treatments: Drug-resistant bacteria that cause painful and potentially dangerous skin infections are gaining a foothold in the nation's prisons, health officials say. Humans have traditionally used herbs and spices as additions to their food for flavor for centuries. Only recently have scientists realized that these additions also had an adverse effect on the microorganisms that may have contaminated their food. Pure extracts of herbs such as Mentha piperita (peppermint), Cinnamomum cassia (cinnamon), Lavendula officinalis (lavender), and Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree), have documented antibacterial properties. This research project used the selected herbal oils to test for levels of antibacterial activity. By using a standard disc assay method, each oil was tested on several species of microorganisms including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureaus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae. We found that cinnamon oil showed the highest levels of antibacterial sensitivity with all the bacteria tested. Considering the rise in antibiotic resistance, these results present promising alternatives to antibacterial control.