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Infection and Immunity > 20 Anthrax > Flashcards

20 Anthrax Flashcards

1
Q

what causes anthrax

A

Bacillus anthracis is the etiological agent of the disease known as anthrax

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2
Q

what is anthrax gram

A

Gram-positive

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3
Q

what is the ‘respiration’ of anthrax

A

aerobic

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4
Q

what shape is anthrax

A

rod

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5
Q

does anthrax move

A

non-motile

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6
Q

do anthrax form spores

A

key characteristic is that it forms endospores which are oval and located centrally in the cell

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7
Q

where are anthrax spores

A

spores persist in the environment

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8
Q

what disease is anthrax

A

anthrax primarily disease of herbivores

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9
Q

what animals is anthrax common in

A

sheeps, goats, cattle, horse

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10
Q

how do humans get anthrax

A

Infections result from direct contact with an infected animal or from exposure to spores in animal products. Person-to-person transmission is extremely rare

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11
Q

how do spores enter humans

A

Spores enter through skin lesions and mucous membranes

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12
Q

what happens when B. anthracis replicates or its spores germinate

A

Toxins are produced and accumulate

The toxins cause fluid accumulation (swelling, edema) and cell damage

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13
Q

what happens from cutaneous anthrax

A

Because of fluid accumulation and cell damage a papule starts to develop which will ulcerate and necrotise to form an Escher

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14
Q

what happens if spores are inhaled

A

pulmonary anthrax

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15
Q

symptoms of pulmonary anthrax

A

growth and toxin production in lungs causes:

> swelling mediastinal (thoracic cavity) haemorrhage, septicaemia and possibly death

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16
Q

what happens if spores are ingested

A

intestinal anthrax

17
Q

symptoms of intestinal anthrax

A

rapid onset abdominal pain and abdominal swelling due to haemorrhage, septicaemia and death

18
Q

what may cutaneous anthrax cause when disseminate

A

10% of cases disease will disseminate and may result in

  • Septicaemia (bad)
  • Haemorrhagic meningitis (very bad)
  • If the colonising bacteria continue to multiply and produce toxins then there is the risk of death (worse than very bad)
19
Q

how many anthrax toxins are there

A

three toxin subunits

20
Q

what are the three toxin subunits

A
  1. Protective antigen (PA) 2. Lethal factor (LF)

3. Edema factor (EF)

21
Q

what is protective antigen

A

will bind the other two factors

- Which is the receptor binding subunit

22
Q

what is the lethal factor

A

(LF)

- Enzyme subunit

23
Q

what is Edema factor (EF)

A

subunits can form two active toxins, lethal toxin (LT) (PA + LF) and edema toxin (ET) (PA +EF)

24
Q

which are the non-toxic subunits

A

PA, LF and EF are non-toxic alone

25
Q

where does the protective antigen bind

A

binds to the host cell membrane and to lethal factor or edema factor

26
Q

what is endocytosed

A

lethal toxin or edema toxin complex is endocytosed

27
Q

what is released from endosome

A

Inside the cell LF or EF are released from the endosome

28
Q

what does LF do

A

LF alters host cell signal pathways to trigger apoptosis

29
Q

what does EF trigger

A

EF triggers rapid increase in cAMP levels resulting in edema

30
Q

the anthrax toxin mode of action

A

Once in the phagosome – release of toxins into the host cell

31
Q

B. anthrasis capsule composed of

A

poly-D-glutamic acid

32
Q

how is anthrax detected

A

Swab and Gram stain to reveal - Large Gram-positive bacilli, often in chains
Culturing samples from blood, skin lesions or respiratory secretions on blood agar

33
Q

what is anthrax like when swabbed

A
  • Non-haemolytic (anthrax is non-haemolytic)

- Characteristic colonies

34
Q

where do antitoxins bind

A

bind to protective antigen with high affinity in a dose-dependent manner

35
Q

how are antitoxins administered

A

adjunct to intravenous antimicrobials if there is a high level of clinical suspicion for systemic anthrax

36
Q

what makes B. anthracis a good weapon

A

Can be easily manufactured using standard laboratory equipment
Persistence of endospore in environment
Delayed onset of recognisable symptoms renders treatment ineffective
Pathogenicity
No obvious colour, taste, or odour

Infection and Immunity (29 decks)

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