That funky-looking "m"-shaped letter for the units there is the Greek letter Mu, and the units give are micrometers, if you were curious.
This Gram-negative, opportunistic bacterium is very common, found on human skin and everywhere humans thrive. Chances are, you probably have a few trillion of these little guys on you right now. If that's the case, how come we don't get sick with them more often? Well, it's because P. aeruginosa isn't that strong against your body's immune system - it's generally killed off before it even gets a chance to grow. But if you're already immunocompromised, say, a burn victim in the hospital or an AIDS sufferer, you can end up with pneumonia, an infection of the urinary tract, skin infections or (in newborns and Cancer patients) necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that causes death of the intestinal tract. It also can cause eye infections, skin rashes, and ear infections, and is the most common cause of them, in fact. Like many bacteria, some strains of P. aeruginosa are becoming resistant to common antibiotics, which makes them a primary concern in the health care industry.
The best way to avoid being infected or infecting others, of course, is to wash your hands, particularly if you work in health care or are visiting the hospital. But outside of the hospital, it is also important to avoid under-chlorinated swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas. It's also advised to keep contact lenses and the solution they sit in clean and sanitary, changing every night if possible. Be careful to clean your contact lenses (if you wear them) to prevent cross-contaminating the solution they rest in.
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