16 - Toxico-Infections Flashcards
Key characteristics common among toxico-infections for spore formers:
1- ingestion of large numbers of live vegetative cells is usually necessary
2- vegetative cells of sporeformers do not multiply in the digestive tract, but sporulate and release toxins
Key characteristics common among toxico-infections for gram negative bacteria :
1- live cells can be ingested in moderate numbers
2- gram negative cells rapidly multiply in the digestive tract
3- many cells also die, releasing toxin
T or F: Toxins of both groups (spore formers and gram - bacteria) cause gastroenteritis symptoms
T
__________ is usually associated with Clostridium perfringens
Corned beef (temperature abused)
Clostridium perfringens is normally associated with _____ outbreaks
large
Give me some characteristics of C.perfringens:
- gram +
- motile
- rod-shaped
- sporeforming / can form small chains
- anaerobic but can tolerate some oxygen
Vegetative cells are ______ to heat (pasteurization) but spores are very heat _______ and can survive boiling for several hours
sensitive
resistant
C.perfringens grows from _____ C but its optimal temperature is at ___C
10-52
45
C.perfringens lack ______ synthesis ability, therefore they more commonly grow on high-protein foods (cooked meat products)
amino acid
In foods the most important factors (4) contributing to a C.perfringens outbreak are:
1) cooking large volumes in advance
2) allowing it to cool slowly
3) holding for a long period of time
4) serving without reheating
Complete the steps:
1) in C.perfringens cooking kills vegetative cells but spores survive
2) ________________
3) ________________
large volumes of food provide an anaerobic environment
slow cooling provides the temperature for spores to germinate and multiply
What is the #1 food type involved in Cp outbreaks?
Beef
T or F: some strains of Cp are harmless GI commensals
T
Cp vegetative cells can be found in :
- dust
- soil
- intestines of food-producing animals
- birds
- humans
- sewage
Some strains of Cp can cause gastrointestinal or tissue infections of various severities (give examples):
- necrotic tissue infections
- food poisoning
- antibiotic-associated diarrhea
- necrotizing enteritis
Talk about the symptoms of Cp:
- they appear 8-24 hours following the ingestion of a large number of viable cells
- symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal pain
- nausea, vomiting and fever can occur but are less common
What about the fatality rates of Cp:
fatalities are rare, but can occur among the very young, elderly, and sick
Symptoms of Cp generally resolve in ___h
24
Cp is a _____ disease and is seldom reported
mild
The virulence potential of Cp is based on its ability to produce various combinations of more than ___ different toxins and several __________________ (exoenzymes)
15
extracellular hydrolytic enzymes
Toxin coding genes can be located on ___________________, so several different pathotypes exist
mobile genomic elements
C.perfringens strains are classified into 5 toxinotypes __________ based on the production of 4 major toxins
A,B,C,D,E
ALPHA, BETA, EPSILONE AND L
The Cp toxins are secreted during ___________________
the exponential growth phase
Cp type A strains are associated with _________
food poisoning in humans