Fungal infection Flashcards

1
Q

List characteristics of mushrooms, such as their place in the Kindom tree, their role in nature, and how they digest nutrients

A

Mushrooms are in the eukaryota tree, very close to animals (humans)- quite similar
They can be food, recyle and symbiose, and antimicrobial AND human pathogen
Most of fungi have not been discovered-only about 5%, but they exist everywhere (spored in air constantly)
Importantly, fungi secrete enzymes in the environement that dissolved what they live in, making a dead food gloob they then intake

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2
Q

What are the 3 main types of disease caused by fungi?Give a quick description of the first 1

A

Allergy, mycotoxicoses, Mycoses
Allergy are world wide problem-as fungal sporea are present everywhere, and are very diversified-and they have been showed to cause allergy-Rhinitis, asthma, dermititis, and allergic broncho pulmanory aspergillosis (ABPA)-caused by asperigillius fumigantus-2.5% of ashtmatics

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3
Q

What is mycotoxicosis? What are they caused by? What are some reaction? and the worse offenders

A

Mycotoxicosis-Toxic reaction due to inhalation of mycotoxins (they are secondary metabolites of mould that have toxic effects). Symptoms are breathing problems, dizziness, severe vommiting, diarhoe, dehydration-therapy is usually just gastric lavage or liver transplant
they can also be uptaken during eating-poison mushrooms, or Psychadelic mushroom (psilocybin)
But also Aflatoxin, produced by asperigillius flavorus, is a major carcinogenic compound (in grain in africa)

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4
Q

What are mycoses? Where are the 4 levels they can affect humans? Describe the first one

A

Mycoses are fungi that actually grow on/in humans-pathogens
Can be Superficial, cutaneous or subcutaneous and systemic
Superficial mycoses-nearly only cosmetic effects of skin or hair shafts-no living tissue is invaded, and there is no response from host
eg: Malassezia Globbosa cause dandruff by producing oleic acid

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5
Q

What are cutaneous mycoses? What do they live on/in? give exemples

A

Cutaneous mycoses, or dematophytes, keratynocytes and fungi producing enzymes (keratinase) capable of using Keratin to make food-and cause inflammation by host response to the by products
Eg: Ringworm, Tinea +location of body-causes a ring shaped redness on many parts of body => can get bad, like tinea capitis (scalp) can spread fast and is very common (25% of african children-and disfuguring, stigma, etc)
Tinea pedis-atheltes foot (loose skin between toe nails), tinea corporis-all over body

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6
Q

What are subcutaneous mycoses? Describe them and give exemples

A

Subcutaneous mycoses can survive in the body-cause chronic, localised infection in skin and any subcunatenous tissue following traumatic implantation if aetiologic (causing) agent -rare but increasingly common in war wound-large trauma, unwashed and stuff
Eg: sporotrichosis-can transmitted by scatches in brazil

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7
Q

Describe systemic mycoses, the 2 categories, and exemples.

A

Systemic mycoses go to the blood and take over the body-can be either primary (establish in healthy individual), or opportunistic (need comprimised host to go)
systemic fungi infection have very high rate of mortality- more people die of top 10 fungi than malaria or TB
Big exemple is candida-yeast. over 100 species that can colonise humans (opportunistic but can be prinary)-can infect oral, GI, URT, LGT, LUT, Skin, nails
usually primary in oral, GI LG/UT, skin, and opportunistic for superficial, mucosal, systemic
Superficial candida-mouth throat, lungs, and more-due to impaired epithelial barrier-all ages. easy treatment
mucosal-very symptomatic-normatlly when v young or old, Seen with HIV-but very opportunistic
Blood stream infection seen in hospital
Systemic-not seen in healthy, but can be due to chemi therapy, gut surgery, catheters-very bad and hard to distinguish from other systemic infections

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8
Q

Explain diagnosis methods for fungi infections

A

Fungi have few and rare symtoms that are specific to them-usually based on suspicioin (immuno supressed, travel, etc)
Diagnosis tools are usually microscopy-gold standard, but need to be able to sample and only if enough fungi
Culture-slow, prone to contamination, requires skilled collection
Others are AB and AG based ones-specific to fungi (glucan, mannan, enolase, proteinase), or PCR

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9
Q

What do antifungal drugs target? List method of action and exemples or drugs. Explain anto-fungi resistance

A

Target membrane function (pylogenes), nucleic acid synthesis (s flucytosine), cell wall synthesis (echinocandins) and membrane biosynthesis (azoles, terbinafine, etc) mainly-but because fungi similar to human its hard
But resistance is arising in fungi too-especially in those used to treat humans and animals/plant-Azoles are used as pesticides, and therefore resistance is acquired in the wild-then when comes to human resistant

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