Bacteria Pt 1 Flashcards
What are general characteristics of clostridia pathogens?
Why do we have so much C diff?
Gram positive
spore forming, anaerobic rods
all are obligate anaerobes, but oxygen tolerance varies
- if bug doesn’t make catalase, oxygen is toxic
- if bug doesn’t make superoxide dismutase, very sensitive to superoxide
spore are highly resistant to oxygen, which is reason for so many nosocomial C. diff infections
Which clostridia have neurotoxins and what are their symptoms?
Clostridia tetanii (tetatnospasm)
Clostridia botulinum (flaccid paralysis)
Which clostridia have tissue damaging toxins?
Clostridia perfigens have alpha toxin (causing cell lysis, massive destruction of muscle, soft tissue)
Clostridia difficile toxins cause ulceration of colon
Which clostridia cause pathology from toxins and which cauase pathology from infection?
Clostridia botulinum result from ingestion of toxin, there is no live bacteria consumed
- exception to infant botulism, and wound botulism
clostridia perfinges cause pathology from toxins (alpha toxin)
clostridia dificile produce tissue damaging toxin (pseudomembranous colitis)
Clostridia tetatni causing tetanus and C diff causing pseudomembranous colitis are caused by infections
Clostridia perfringes cause damage via toxin (alpha toxin, theta toxin, enterotoxin)
What is an exotoxin and what is the classic example?
Exotoxins are secreted proteins that directly interact with targets in host tissues to cause loss of function, altered function, or physical damage?
Botulinum toxin is the classic example
Which toxins do not fit the A-B model? Which do?
Do not- Pore forming toxins via assembly of a ring of protein subunits
Lipases that degrade lipids organizing the membrane (Clostridium perfringes)
Do- Botulism toxin, cholera toxin, bordatella pertussis toxin
Clostridium perfringens characteristics- Gram? Spore? Growth? Where is it found?
Gram positive, anaerobic, spore former, invasive,
- more aerotolerant than other clostridial pathogens
capable of VERY rapid growth (10 min generation time)
common in soil and intestines of many mammals
- risk of infection following wound contamination, abdominal surgery
How does Clostridium perfringens cause pathology? What type of pathology does it cause?
Produces many toxins
alpha toxin most important- phospholipase that hydrolyzes cell membrane proteins leading to lysis
q-toxin is a pore forming toxin causing lysis
enterotoxin- important in benign food poisoning
Pathology- anaerobic cellulitis, gas gangrene
What are characteristics of Clostridium dificile? Treatment?
Gram positive, spore former
antibiotic associated pseudomembranous colitis
treat with oral vancomycin or metronidazole
What are characteristics of Clostridium botulinum? Where is it commonly found? Treatment/Prevention?
Gram positive rod, anaerobe, spore-former
Encounter: commonly found in food/honey, and no live bacteria involved in transmission! just toxin
Mech: Has botulinum neruotoxin (AB) which inactivates synaptobrevin, blocks cholinergic synpases of peripheral nerves at motor end plates and cause descending flaccid paralysis (respiratory paralysis can be fatal)
Clinical: Presents with dysphagia
Infants and wound botulinum involve infections
- infant- toxin produced by gut bacteria
- wound- spores germinate in wound and result in similar Sx to botulism toxin
Prevent by heating to 80C before eating, polyvalent antitoxin
Sketch- Robutulism
What are characteristics of Clostridium tetanus?
Gram positive rod, o. anaerobe, spore former, non-invasive, MOTILE
Encounter: Wound contaminated with soil
Mech: TOXIN causes symptoms
Tetanospasm from zinc-dependent protease inactivating synaptobrevin/SNARE, utilizes zinc-dependent protease to move up motor neurons to CNS, prevents release of GABA and Glycine, resulting is spastic paralysis
Clinical: Lockjaw, respiratory paralysis, osiphotonus (back muscle rigidity) and facial muscle rigidity (Risus sardonicus)
Treatment: untreated mortality>50%, antitoxin, DPT vaccine, boosters, antibiotics
Sketchy: Risus Research Revolution
What are characteristics of Corynebacterium diptheriae?
Gram positive rod, F anaerobe, non spore former
Encounter: human throat, transmitted oral secretions
Mech: Diptheria toxin (AB), expressed only when organism is infected with a particular bacteriophage! in absence, only pharyngitis
Clinical: sore throat and pharyngitis, pseudomembrane in throat, BULL NECK due to cervical edema and lymphadenitis, asphyxiation, reversible neuro impairment (muscle paralysis)
Treatment: Antitoxin, DPT vaccine
What are characteristics of Bordatella pertussis? What is it commonly called in kids?
Gram negative coccobacillus, non motile, non-invasive fastidious slow grower, aerobe
Encounter: Aerosols, Human only host, colonizes on ciliated respiratory epithelium
Mech: toxin
- Pertussis toxin (AB) exotoxin, causes ADP-ribosylation of G protein, causing increase in cAMP, increased mucosal secretions, high lymphocytosis
- Filamentous hemagluttinin mediates adhesion to increase colonization
- Adenylate cyclase (AB), exotoxin
- Tracheal cytotoxin (TCT), an endotoxin, destroys ciliated epithelial cells
Clinical
- Catarrahl phase (1-2 weeks) with mild fever and dry nonproductive cough, highly infectious
- Paroxysmal phase (2-4 weeks) with explosive cough, danger of secondary pnemonia
- Convalescent phase
Treatment: Antibiotics early- macrolides d
DTap/Tdap with toxoid in it, acellular vaccine
- purified proteins
- D for diptheria and T for tetanus
Sketchy- Disabled GI coughing with bowtie spilling popcorn with tracheal toxin (tractor) which cleaves grass (cilia)
What are the two most pyogenic organisms?
Streptococcus and staphylococcus
What are the classification methods and how can you differentiate different types of streptococcus? Group A specifically?
Hemolytic pattern on a blood agar plate
- alpha hemolytic- partial clearing
- beta hemolytic- complete clearing
- gamma hemolytic- no clearing
For alpha and beta hemolytic streptococci you can use the Lancfield grouping according to major cell-wall carbohydrate antigens
Group A streptococcus has the M antigen, a major virulence protein allowing it to resist phagocytosis