16 - Airborne bacterial diseases Flashcards
Upper respiratory tract
- Anaerobes outnumber aerobes 10:1
- May include pathogens in low numbers
- Contains normal flora
How does normal flora exclude pathogens
- Occupy the same site
- Secreting bactericidal chemicals that kill pathogens
Lower respiratory tract
Maybe sterile (trachea and lungs)
Physical defences of the respiratory tract
- nasal hair
- mucous layer
- ciliary action
Chemical defences of the respiratory tract
Lysozyme (saliva, tears)
Immunological defences of the respiratory tract
- Alveolar macrophages (lungs)
- Secretory IgA (saliva, tears)
Mechanical defences of the respiratory tract
Cough, sneeze
Pathogen that causes Diphtheria
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Pathogen that causes Legionnaires’ disease
Legionella pneumophila
Pathogen that causes Streptococcal diseases
Streptococcus pyogenes
Pathogen that causes Pertussis (whooping cough)
Bordetella pertussis
Pathogen that causes Tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Pathogens that cause Meningitis
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Haemophilus influenzae
Pathogens that cause Bacterial pneumonias
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Legionella sp
Clinical symptoms of Diphtheria
- Pharyngitis (sore throat), fever
- Swelling of neck, formation of membrane which
occludes the airway and results in asphyxiation - Diphtheria toxin may cause cardiac arrest
Diphtheria transmission
Affects unvaccinated people living in crowded conditions via respiratory secretions
Diphtheria treatment and control
- Vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid (inactivated toxin)
- Antibiotics such as penicillin, erythromycin
Diagnostic characteristics of diphtheria
- Gram-positive rod containing polyphosphate granules
- Snapping cell division results in cells in palisades (or “Chinese letters”)
- Fastidious, difficult to grow in the lab
Virulence determinants of diphtheria
Diphtheria toxin DT
Characteristics of diphtheria toxin
- Secreted as a polypeptide, chains A and B linked by
a disulphide bond - B contains receptor domain, binds to host cell receptor
- Toxin taken into cell into endocytic vacuole
- Vacuole acidifies, B cell transmembrane domain
allows A chain to enter cytosol - A (active enzyme) blocks protein synthesis in host
cell cytosol - Causes death of host cell
Transmission of Legionnaires’ disease (legionellosis)
- Found in soil, water, AC systems, showers, spas
- Live within amoebae, protozoa, and macrophages
- Optimum temp 35ºC
- Spread via aerosols from environment
Diagnostic characteristics of Legionnaires’ disease (legionellosis)
Gram negative rods