L2- History of Medical Microbiology

Question 1

What were the 4 stages of the infectious disease debate?

Answer 1

1. Suggested infections (contagious) cause
2. Defeat of miasma theory
3. Defeat of spontaneous generation theory
4. Direct association of bacteria with disease

Question 2

What was the miasma theory of disease?

Answer 2

Disease caused by noxious ‘bad air’

Caused by decomposed matter which has a bad smell

Question 3

What was the spontaneous generation theory of disease?

Answer 3

The hypothetical process by which living organisms develop from nonliving matter

Question 4

What is the infectious and contagious theory of disease?

Answer 4

Infectious diseases are caused by microscopic organisms that enter the body and disrupt its normal functioning
Some spread from person to person

Question 5

How was the miasma theory of disease overcome?

Answer 5

• Epidemiology

* Direct linkage of specific bacteria with specific disease

Question 6

What is anthrax?

Answer 6

• Serious infectious disease
• Caused by bacillus anthracis
• Gram + and rod shaped bacteria found naturally in soil
• Commonly affects domestic/wild animals
• Skin, GI and inhalation transmission

Question 7

Who cured anthrax?

Answer 7

• Louis Pasteur announced and tested the anthrax vaccine

Question 8

Who was Koch?

Answer 8

• Made first link between specific bacterium to disease understanding of life cycle in 1876 (anthrax)

Question 9

What were Koch’s postulates?

Answer 9

• Parasite occurs in every case of the disease in question
• Distribution corresponds to the lesions observed
• Parasite does not occur in healthy individuals
• Can induce disease in susceptible animals

Question 10

What is diptheria toxin?

Answer 10

• Toxin that inhibits protein synthesis by blocking elongation factor 2
• First child saved from vaccine in 1891
• Formaldehyde treatment

Question 11

What is the eclipse phase?

Answer 11

Time lapsed between successful cell infection by virus and the start of virus production

Question 12

What is viral structure?

Answer 12

• Nucleic acid packaged in a protein
• Genome (single or double stranded, + or -, DNA or RNA)
• Naked or enveloped
• Obligate or intracellular parasite

Question 13

How does viral replication occur?

Answer 13

1. Adsorption into host cell
2. Penetration
3. Uncoating
4. Transcription of viral DNA using host
5. Viral protein synthesis
6. Reassembly
7. Release of viral proteins and more viruses