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HCS228 - Infection and Immunity > Introduction into Medical Microbiology - Lecture 1 > Flashcards

Introduction into Medical Microbiology - Lecture 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of medical microbiology?

A

A branch of microbiology concerned mainly with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease in humans

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2
Q

What are the 4 groups of pathogens?

A
  1. Fungus
  2. Bacteria
  3. Virus
  4. Parasites
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3
Q

What is a pathogen?

A

A biological agent capable of causing disease

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4
Q

What is a pandemic?

A

A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world at a particular time

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5
Q

What is an epidemic?

A

A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time

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6
Q

What are some examples of pandemics in the past?

A
  1. Plague
  2. Cholera
  3. Influenza
  4. COVID-19
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7
Q

What is the Latin name for bubonic plague?

A

Yersinia pestis

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8
Q

How was the bubonic plague spread?

A
  • Spread from rodents to humans via a Rat flea vector
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9
Q

What are the two types of plague

A
  1. Bubonic plague
  2. Pneumonic plague
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10
Q

What is one major difference between bubonic plague and pneumonic plague?

A

Pneumonic plague has a 100% mortality rate without treatment

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11
Q

What are the characteristics of Y.pestis (bubonic plague bacteria)?

A
  • Gram-negative
  • Rod shaped
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12
Q

What is the bubonic plague mortality rates when treated and untreated?

A
  • Treated = 1-15% mortality rate
  • Untreated = 40-100% mortality rate
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13
Q

What are the 3 pandemics of the plague?

A
  1. Plague of Justinian
  2. Black death
  3. Modern plague
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14
Q

Common facts of Plague of Justinian

A
  • Affected the Middle East from 541
  • Caused massive depopulation around the Mediterranean - around 50% of the population was killed
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15
Q

Common facts of the black death

A
  • Began in 1347
  • Spread from the Caspian sea throughout Europe
  • Killed approximately 1/3 of Europe’s population
  • The plague entered England in 1348 - there was an estimated 1.5 million deaths recorded in 1349
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16
Q

Common facts of the modern plague

A
  • It originated in China in the late 19th century
  • It spread from China to Hong Kong then to India
  • An estimated 12.5 million people were killed
  • It ended in 1959
17
Q

What were some remedies used for the black death?

A
  1. Plague Doctors:
    • Wore a mask with a beak filled with scents and garlic to ‘protect’ them from the plague
  2. Whips:
    • People would whip themselves because they believed they had the plague because God was upset with them. The whipping was classed as a punishment
18
Q

Why were the remedies for the black death so bad?

A
  • They were based on superstition and not evidence-based science
  • They often did more harm than good
19
Q

Examples of bacterial diseases that developed countries are most familiar with

A
  1. Tooth decay
  2. Gastroenteritis - AKA food poisoning
20
Q

How many people die from bacterial diseases per year?

A

Approximately 5 million

21
Q

What did Greenwood et al. say in his medical microbiology book about infections in hospitals?

A

Around 1 in 190 patients acquire infections while in hospital, sometimes with multiple antibiotic resistant organisms

22
Q

Why has there been a decline in infection since the early 1900s?

A
  • Antibiotic development
  • Vaccinations
  • Hygiene standards
  • Better general health (diet and lifestyle)
  • Better workplace conditions
  • Better healthcare services
23
Q

How does improved nutrition aid the decline of infection?

A
  • Better nutrition allowed people to avoid contracting disease
  • It also allowed people to withstand disease once contracted
24
Q

How does public health aid the decline in infection?

A
  • Information on washing hands and overall hygiene reduces spread of disease
25
Q

Why did the mortality rate of tuberculosis drastically decline in the 1940s?

A

Streptomycin was introduced

26
Q

Why did the mortality rate increase in the west during the 1980s-1990s?

A
  • Mainly due to the emergence of HIV and AIDS among people 25+
  • Partly due to pneumonia and influenza deaths among the elderly
27
Q

Give some reasons why infectious disease might re-emerge and cause an increase in deaths?

A
  • Increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria
  • Emerging and re-emerging diseases such as COVID-19 and Ebola
  • Creation of new environments like hospitals where infection can flourish
  • International travel and migration
  • Weakened immune systems in the ageing population
  • Anti-Vaccination movements
28
Q

Define emerging infectious disease

A

A disease whose incidence has increased in a defined period of time and location

29
Q

What is the pathogen for a lot of emerging infectious diseases and why?

A

Viruses - they have a fast evolution

30
Q

Examples of emerging diseases within the last 50 years

A
  • E.coli O157:H7
  • Lyme disease
  • Bird flu (influenza)
  • Hepatitis C (HCV)
  • AIDS
  • Ebola
  • Zika virus
  • COVID-19
31
Q

How does evolution in pathogens affect emerging disease?

A
  • Mutations lead to different strains of viruses (e.g. COVID-19)
  • Genetic re-assortment/recombination leads to different genomes in pathogens (e.g influenza A)
32
Q

How does changes in environment affect emerging diseases?

A

Climate change:
- more than 50% of known human infectious diseases could be aggravated by climate change

33
Q

How can changes in society affect emerging diseases?

A
  1. Urbanisation - more people, polluted air, more bacteria and viruses
  2. War - Bad conditions for soldiers and the public, leads to more pathogenic tendencies
34
Q

Give an example of how globalisation has affected emerging diseases

A
  • In 1957, the Hong Kong flu took 4 months to spread from the far east
  • In 2003, SARS was distributed worldwide from Hong Kong in a few weeks
35
Q

What are the leading causes of death in children worldwide?

A
  1. Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)
  2. Diarrhoeal disease
  3. Prematurity and low birth weight
  4. Neonatal infections (sepsis)
  5. Birth asphyxia and trauma
  6. Malaria
  • over 50% of all child death is infectious disease
36
Q

What are some common facts about tuberculosis?

A
  • Caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • Responsible for at least 2 million deaths annually
  • The leading cause of death from a single infectious agent
37
Q

What disease has been eradicated by vaccinations?

A

Small pox (Variola virus)

38
Q

Which disease have nearly been eradicated or eliminated?

A
  • Poliomyelitis (poliovirus)
  • Neonatal Tetanus (Clostridium tetani)
  • Leprosy (mycobacterium leprae)
39
Q

Which diseases have been greatly reduced by vaccination, sanitation and antibiotics?

A
  • Diphtheria
  • Typhoid fever
  • Tuberculosis
  • Whopping cough
  • COVID

HCS228 - Infection and Immunity (3 decks)

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