Bacterial infection 1 Flashcards
Infection
Microbe is established in a host
May not involve disease or any symptoms
Can lead to disease
Nosocomial infections
Acquired in hospital
Disease
Infection causes damage or pathology to host
Pathogenesis
Sequence of events + mechanisms + processes that cause disease
Catheter associated UTI
Often nosocomial
Often asymptomatic + infected unless serious complications arise
Encrustation + blockage issues
Latent TB
TB lives but doesn’t grow in body
Asymptomatic
Can’t spread between people
Can advance to TB disease
TB disease
Active + grows in body
Symptomatic
Can spread between people
Fatal if untreated
Dynamic balance between health + disease
- disease factors
Pathogen exposure
Routes of transmission
Pathogen load
Site of pathogen exposure
Dynamic balance between health + disease
- health factors
Immune status Nutrition Vaccination Sanitation Injury Ageing Medical devices
Parasite
Org that colonises host + causes harm
Primary pathogens
Breach defences + cause disease in a healthy host
Opportunistic pathogen
Cause disease in compromised host
Pathogenicity
Ability to cause disease
- combines infectivity + virulence
Virulence
Measure indicating severity of a disease
e.g. LD50 for lethal pathogens
LD50
= Lethal dose 50%
No. of orgs (cells/virions) required to kill 50% of hosts in a test group
How do infections begin?
Exposure to a pathogen
Route of transmission
- Exposure
- Adherence
- Invasion
- Infection
(can lead to further exposure at local sites) - Toxicity or Invasiveness (can lead to further exposure)
- Tissue damage + disease