Lecture 11: Interactions between microbes and humans Flashcards
What is an infectious disease?
When the tissue or organism is disrupted by microbes or their products
How does an infectious disease come about?
contact –> colonization–> infection –> disease
Does contact always lead to colonization then infection then disease?
NO
What are 2 other names for resident flora?
Indigenous flora or normal flora
What are examples of resident flora?
bacteria fungi protozoa viruses arthropods
Where is resident biota acquired?
most areas of the body that have contact with the outside world
What areas of the body are sterile?
internal organs, tissues, and their fluids
Are most microbes destroyed by the immune system before they are able to colonize?
YES
What sites of the body are known to harbor normal biota?
Skin Upper Respiratory Tract Gastrointestinal Tract Outer opening of urethra external genitalia vagina external ear canal external eye
How much of your weight is made up by skin?
15%
Compared to the geographic regions of the earth what is the forearm compared to?
the desert
Compared to the geographic regions of the earth what is the scalp compared to?
the cool woods
Compared to the geographic regions of the earth what is the armpit compared to?
the tropical forest
What things are found on the skin?
Fatty acids, lysozymes, and salt
Where are lysozymes found ?
sweat, tears, and saliva
What prevents overgrowth of bacterial population?
Sloughing (the shedding of the skin)
What specific bacteria make up the normal flora of the skin?
s. epi
s. aureus
pro acnes (Diptheroids)
yeast (Fungi)
canidida albicans (Fungi)
dermidex folliculorum (arachnid)
What is used to remove nonresident bacteria?
soap with hexachlorophene or other disinfectants
What factors affect the normal flora of the skin?
weather, age, and hygiene
What is the conjunctiva?
mucous membrane that covers the exposed surface of the eyelid
What does the microbial environment of conjunctiva consist of?
an impenetrable surface and is flushed by tears which contain lysozymes. Many normal flora are not found due to the constant flushing, but staphylcoccus and diptheroids are found.
When are the bacteria of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx colonized?
4 to 12 hours after birth
How many organisms are inhaled daily?
10,000
What is the microbial environment of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx like?
Its warm and moist and has a mucociliary system
What can affect the mucocilliary system be affected?
cystic fibrosis and smoking
What is the main flora found in the nasal cavity and nasopharynx?
s. aureus
What bacteria causes middle ear infections?
moraxella catarrhalis
When is the bacteria of the mouth colonized?
at birth when passing through the birth canal
What is the microbial environment of the mouth like?
warm and moist and it contains saliva and lysozymes
How many different species of bacteria are found in the mouth?
80
What bacteria causes tooth decay?
streptococcus mutans
Where do bacteria in the intestinal tract come from?
from the mouth and through the GI tract
What can affect the flora present in the intestinal tract?
your diet
What is the microbial environment of the intestinal tract like?
very few microbes survive upper GI, peristalis is less in the large intestine, and 100 billion to 100 trillion are eliminated per day
What are most of the bacteria of the intestinal tract?
anaerobes
What complicated interactions occur in the intestinal tract?
competition, genetic changes (antibiotic resistance) and peristalsis (contraction to move things through)
What is the microbial environment of the urethra like?
the movement of urine can remove the bacteria of the tightly joined cells and the normal flora
What are the 2 bacteria of the urethra?
enterococci and s. epi
When is the vagina bacteria colonized?s
soon after birth
What is the microbial environment of the vagina like?
It has very few nutrients and low pH then becomes normal before puberty then drops again
What bacteria is present in 25% of women?
Group B streptococcus
After a vaginally delivered baby how long until its been colonized and by what?
8 to 12 hours and streptococci, staphylococci, and lactobacilli
How are c section babies colonized?
by adult skin bacteria
What are formula fed babies large intestines colonized with?
mixed population of coliforms, lactobacilli, enteric streptococci, staphylococci
What are breast-fed babies large intestines colonized with?
Bifidobacterium whose growth is favored by a growth factor in milk; metabolizes sugars into acids to protect the infant from intestinal pathogens
What is a pathogen?
a microbe whose relationship with its host is parasitic and results in infection and disease
What does the severity of an infection depend on?
pathogenicity of the organism
condition of the host
What is pathogenicity?
an organism’s potential to cause infection or disease
What are true pathogens?
capable of causing disease in healthy persons with normal immune defenses
What are examples of true pathogens?
examples include the influenza virus, plague bacillus, and malarial protozoan
What are opportunistic pathogens?
cause disease when the host’s defenses are compromised or when they become established in a part of the body that is not natural to them
What are examples of opportunistic pathogens?
examples include Pseudomonas species and Candida albicans
What is virulence?
The ability of a microbe to establish itself in a host and cause damage