LEC-7 Zoonotic Bacterial Infections Flashcards
What is Brucella?
- A bacterial genus that, upon infection, causes Brucellosis with the following signs/symptoms:
- Fever, malaise, fatigue/weakness, headache, myalgias, anorexia leading to weight loss, granulomas, and a non-productive cough
- Also causes GI provlems such as nausea and vomiting (up to 70% of patients)
- Slow pathogenesis with a course of a few weeks
- Diagnosis is made with proper history (since bacteria is closely associated with animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and swine)
What are the characteristics of Brucella?
- Gram-negative (G-) coccobacilli
- Facultative intracellular pathogen (good for survival in human cells; prefers macrophages)
- Aerobic
- Catalase +
- Oxidase +
Chronic brucellosis is associated with ______________.
Depression
Brucella is Gram-(positive/negative).
Negative
Brucella is a (bacillus/coccus/coccobacillus/spirillum).
Coccobacillus
Brucella is catalase (positive/negative).
Catalase positive
Brucella is oxidase (positive/negative).
Oxidase positive
(T/F) Brucella is a facultative intracellular parasite.
True.
What media is used to culture Brucella?
Blood agar OR chocolate agar
Addition of _____________ enhances the growth of Brucella in cell culture.
Erythritol
Brucella incubates (slowly/quickly).
Slowly
- 21-35 days
What are the primary pathogens of Brucella?
- Endotoxin (LPS)
- AMP and GMP
- Superoxide dismutase
- Type IV secretion system
What is the mechanism by which the Type IV secretion system is pathenogenic in Brucella?
Inhibits phagolysosome fusion (Brucella injects it’s protein ino macrophages like a syringe)
What is the mechanism by which AMP and GMP are pathenogenic in Brucella?
Inhibits bacterial myloperoxidase-halide system in phagocytes (prevents phagocyte from killing bacterium)
What is the mechanism by which superoxide dismutase is pathenogenic in Brucella?
Inhibits oxidative destruction of the bacterium
What is the major virulence determinant in Bruccella and what are the two types?
- Endotoxin (LPS)
- Two types:
- Smooth LPS (virulent)
- Rough LPS (avirulent)
The (smooth/rough) LPS of Brucella is relatively non-virulent as it is susceptible to lysis by normal serum.
Rough
The (smooth/rough) LPS of Brucella is extremely virulent, avoiding the lysosome and surrounding itself with the cell’s ER.
Smooth
Part of the body’s defense against Brucella is the formation of ____________.
Granulomas
What is the typical pathogenesis for Brucella?
- Entry (causes abscess)
- Survival within macrophages
- Entry into lymphatics
- Draining lymph nodes
- Entry into blood stream and bacteremia
What are the most common sites affected by systemic spread of Brucella?
- Liver
- Spleen
- Lymph nodes
- Bone marrow
- Kidneys
Chronic Brucellosis may result in __________________ within the bone, liver, and kidney.
Suppurative (pyogenic) lesions
Persistent elevation of which immunoglobulin is prognostic of a chronic Brucella infection?
IgG
In serological diagnosis of Brucella, physicians should watch for a ___-fold rise in antibody titer, or a titer greater than ___.
4-fold rise in titer titer greater than 160
In what ways is Brucella transmitted from animals to humans?
- Direct contact with cuts or abrasion on skin
- Secretion (milk, urine, placental tissue) contact with human wound
- Inhalation of aerosols
- Unpasteurized dairy products or contaminated meat
Human to human transmission of Brucella is (rare/common).
Rare