11 + 12. Emerging bacterial infections Flashcards
what is an emerging infection?
an infection that is newly appeared in a population or previously existed but rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range
what is a re-emerging infection?
infections that existed in the past but are now rapidly increasing in incidence or geographical or human host range
what are some misconceptions about infectious diseases?
that the period where they would be interesting or a problem is over and they are not worth research
what are some things that decrease the incidence of infectious diseases?
better housing
safer food and water
improved healthcare and immunisations
improved hygiene
better education
why are disease death rates slowly increasing again?
HIV and other diseases
what increases the incidence of emerging infectious diseases?
society getting older
more leisure time and travel
changes in technology
industrial food production
International travel
Complacency in public health and lack of funding
pathogens changing and adapting
what is tularaemia?
a bacteria disease classically associated with contact with infected animals or arthropod vectors
what are the different manifestations of tularaemia?
skin - lesions and flu like symptoms
ingestion - contaminated meat
inhalation - aerosol, 30% fatal
where is tularaemia normally found?
sub arctic northern hemisphere in remote areas
what type of infection is tularaemia?
zoonotic
where is tularaemia found that it was not previously thought?
in the southern hemisphere where it as differentiated into a number of branches
what bacteria causes tularaemia?
Francisella Tularensis
what is Francisella tularensis?
small
gram-negative
coccobacillus
intracellular pathogen
why is Francisella tularensis hard to culture?
normally intracellular so needs lots of supplements to be cultured
what is the natural reservoir of Francisella tularensis?
thought to rodents but they suffer so cannot be a reservoir
thought to be a protozoa amoeba
why does Francisella tularensis have a degraded genome?
intracellular so relies on host cells for most functions
why is the Francisella tularensis genome degraded?
10% of coding genes are non functional
insertion sequences
deletions
frameshifts
what functions can Francisella tularensis not do?
cannot Assimilate sulphur so cannot make cysteine
cannot make valine, isoleucine, theanine
what is the GC content of Francisella tularensis’s genome?
low GC content
how does Francisella tularensis change macrophage uptake mechanisms?
altered uptake of bacteria using pseudopod loops
altered uptake affects the next stages of degradation
what macrophage mechanism does Francisella tularensis inhibit?
the Reactive oxygen species burst which affects enzyme activation
what is the Francisella tularensis pathogenicity island?
a part of the genome with different GC content that massively contributes to pathogenicity
each genome can contain more then 1 copy
what does the Francisella tularensis pathogenicity island encode?
20 genes that encode a type 6 secretion system
what is a type 6 secretion system ?
a delivery system that injects effector proteins into host cells to disrupt phagocytosis
what is IgIC?
part of the type 6 secretion system
what does IgIC do?
it plays a massive role in inducing apoptosis in cells
why can lactate dehydrogenase be used as a marker for apoptosis?
it is released on cell death
why does tularaemia have potential to be a biological weapon?
very very transmissible
thought to have used in Stalingrad invasion
what is bacillus anthracis?
large
gram-positive rods that associate in chains
form vegetative spores