Invasive Clostridia - Exam 2 Flashcards
True/False. C. perfringes is motile by petrichious flagella.
False.
C. perfringes is non-motile, but other clostridia are motile by petrichious flagella.
What are the diseases caused by invasive clostridium?
Histotoxic (tissue) and enterotoxacemias (GI tract) diseases
C. perfringens, C. difficile, C. novyi, C. haemolyticum, C. septicum, C. chauvoei, C. sordelii
Which invasive clostridium is the most frequently isolated pathogenic bacterium?
C. perfringens
What diseases are caused by non-invasive clostridium?
Neurotoxic diseases
C. botulinum and C. tetani
How many toxins does C. perfringens produce? What are they?
5 types of toxins
Alpha toxin
Beta toxin
Epsilon toxin
Iota toxin
Perfringolysin (theta toxin)
What type of toxin is produced during sporulation for Type A C. Perfringens?
Produced by 10% of C. perfringens
Enterotoxin
How many types of C. perfringens are present in animal diseases?
5
A, B, C, D, E
What is the reservior for C. perfringens?
Intestinal tract of humans and animals
Survival in soil is variable
How is C. perfringens generally transmitted?
Ingestion and wound infection
Which type of invasive clostridia is a great differential diagnosis to the following diseases:
Malginant edema
Black leg
Big head of rams
C. perfringens Type A
Which toxin is most important to a Type A C. perfringens wound infection?
Alpha toxin!
The capsule and perfingolysin O play a big role also
Which toxin produced by C. perfringens causes hemolysis, necrosis and lethality?
Alpha toxin
Produced by ALL C. Perfringens
What conditions would you expect to see with a Type A. C. perfringens wound infection?
Anaerobic cellulitis and gas gangrene
Which toxin produced by C. perfringens forms pores in instestinal epithelial cells and endothelial cells?
Beta toxin
What in colostrum favors the action of the beta toxin produced by C. perfringens?
Protease (trypsin) inhibitors
Which type of toxin produced by C. perfringens is necrotizing and lethal in epithelial and endothelial cells?
Epsilon toxin
Where does the epsilon toxin of C. perfringens concentrate? What activates it?
Concentrates in the brain and kidney (damages microvasculature)
Activated by trypsin
Which toxin produced by C. perfringens affects the cellular cytoskeleton and results in death of the affected cell?
Iota toxin
Which toxin produced by C. perfringens causes fluid and electrolyte abnormalities?
Enterotoxin
Which toxin produced by C. perfringens is important for escaping the phagolysosome?
Perfringolysin O (theta toxin)
What are the important toxins for Type A C. perfringens enterotoxemia?
Alpha-toxin
Perfringlolysin O
Enterotoxins
What disease does Type A C. perfringens entertoxemia cause?
Yellow lamb diseases
(outbreaks of gastritis and hemolytic diseases of ruminants)
Which toxin of C. perfringens is the principle factor for producing hemorrhagic enteritis in the small intestine? Which type of C. perfringens is this toxin the principle factor for?
Beta toxin (Dont forget: SUSCEPTIBLE TO TRYPSIN!)
Type B C. perfringens enterotoxemia
Which disease is caused by Type B C. perfringens enterotoxemia?
Causes lamb dysentery in newborn lambs
Who is most suscepitble to Type C C. perfringens entertoxemia? What does this type cause?
Neonatal calves, foals, piglets, and lambs WORLDWIDE
Causes hemorrhagic enteritis
What is the principle virulence factor for Type C C. perfringens entertoxemia?
Beta toxin
Which type of entertoxemia of C. perfringens causes “struck” in older sheep?
Type C enterotoxemia
Fatal toxemia-bacteremia
Beta-toxin plays the main role
Impression is that the animal has been struck by lightning
Which type of C. perfringens enterotoxemia is associated with overeating and pulp kidney diseases in older lambs?
Type D enterotoxemia
Which toxin is an important virulence factor for type D C. perfringens enterotoxemia?
Epsilon toxin (predilection for older animals and activated by trypsin)
What effects do Type D C. perfringens entertoxemia have on the CNS?
Epsilon toxin will cause encephalomalacia
Head pressing is common
What is one of the most common food related diseases in humans?
Nonenterotoxemic diarrhea
What is the main cause of nonenterotoxemic diarrhea?
Interaction of enterotoxin (from C. perfringens) with epithelial cells of the small intestine following sporulation of the microorganisms in that environment
Why does C. perfringens mostly affect younger animals?
The infantile digestive tract lacks enzymes to inactivate toxin.
Where does the pathogenic strain of C. perfringens survive?
In the soil
What kind of hemolysis would you expect to see on a blood agar plate inoculated with C. perfringens?
Double-zone hemolysis
What reaction is characteristic of C. perfringens and what does it detect?
Nagler’s reaction
Detects lecithinase activity
Which invasive clostridium shows adhesion to target cells in the large intestine?
C. difficile
Which virulence factor of C. difficile stimulates the influx of polymorphonuclear cells? What is the result?
Enterotoxin toxin A
Results in diarrhea
What is the reservoir for C. difficile?
Intestinal tract of normal and clinically affected animals
What causes the disruption of normal flora and colonization of C. difficile?
A “trigger” event
Antibiotics, chemotherapy, stress, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Which antibiotic does C. difficile respond rapidly to?
Metronidazole
What are the conditions you would expect to see with Type A C. novyi?
Gas gangrene
Big head
True/False. There are two main types of C. novyi which are very similar.
False.
There are two main types (A and B) which differ biochemically, epidemiologically and pathogenically.
What is the main toxin produced by both types of C. novyi?
Alpha toxin
CELL DEATH!
Which toxins are produced by C. novyi Type A?
Alpha toxin and novyliysin (delta toxin)
Which toxin is produced by C. novyi Type B?
Alpha and Beta toxin
Which type of C. novyi causes black diseases?
Type B
Black diseases - subcutaneous venous congestion secondary to pericardial edema darkens the underside of the skin
True/False. Type A and B C. novyi are found in normal instestine and liver of herbivores.
True
How is C. novyi transmitted?
All types enter their hosts by ingestion or wound infection.
What is the most distinguishing feature of sudden death in sows caused by Type B C. Novyi?
The liver uniformly infiltrated with gas bubbles
Presenting a spongy appearance on the cut surface
Which parasite does the distribution of black diseases largely coincide with?
Fasciola hepatica
Which clostridium resembles C. novyi Type B phenotypically and in disease pattern?
C. haemolyticum
What is the main virulence factor of C. haemolyticum? What does it produce?
Phospholipase C toxin (beta toxin)
Produces hemolytic crisis and acute death
Which invasive clostridium causes bacillary hemogolbinuria or “red water” diseases of ruminants?
C. haemolyticum
Which clostridium is the leading cause of wound infections of farm animals?
C. septcium
What is the main virulence factor of C. septicum?
Alpha toxin
Which clostridium causes a fatal cold weather disease of sheep? What is the disease called?
C. septicum
Braxy or bradsot disease
Which clostridium causes malignant edema?
C. septicum
Which clostridium produces an emphysematous necrotizing myositis in cattle?
AKA BLACK LEG
C. CHAUVOEI
Which clostridium causes Tyzzer’s disease?
C. piliforme
Acute fatal diarrheal disease in lab mice with focal liver necrosis** **
Also in foals
Which clostridium causes fatal myositis and hepatic diseases in ruminants and horses?
C. sordelli
Which clostridium causes quail disease?
C. colinum
Ulcerative enteritis and necrotizing hepatitis of several species of fowl
Which clostridium causes juvenile enteritis in rabbits?
C. spiroforme
Also antibiotic induced enteritis in rabbits
