Lectures 7, 8 & 9 - Gastroenteritis Flashcards
What are the types of bacteria that make pre-formed toxin, bringing about intoxication?
Bacillus cereus
Staphylococcus aureus
What are the broad categories of how bacteria can cause gastroenteritis?
Intoxication (pre-formed toxin)
Toxin production
Invasive pathogens
What are the two different types of B. cereus?
How do the symptoms vary?
Emetic type: vomiting and cramps in every case, sometimes diarrhoea
Diarrhoeal type: diarrhoea seen in most cases
What is the source of b. cereus toxin?
Vegetables, soups, dairy
What is the source of Staphylococcus aureus?
Skin (it is part of the natural flora)
Food high in sugar and salt (ham…)
What are the general sequelae of intoxication?
Mild, self-limiting
Describe the Pathogenesis of S. aureus intoxication
- Toxin produced in the food
- When the food is eaten, the toxin binds to receptors in the upper GIT.
- Vomiting region of the brain is affected
Describe the Pathogenesis of emetic B. cereus intoxication
- Spores in food
- Spores survive cooking and germinate as food is cooled slowly at room temperature
- Spores produce cereulide peptide
- Peptide survives flash frying
- The toxin induces the symptoms once consumed
Describe the Pathogenesis of diarrhoeal B. cereus intoxication
- Spores in food
- Post cooking, the spores germinate and the numbers of bacteria rise
- Once in the body, a heat labile toxin
- Toxin activates Adenylate cyclase
- Fluid secretion into the intestine
- Diarrhoea
Compare the incubation period of the different bacteria that cause intoxication
B. cereus emetic - 1-5 hours
B. cereus diarrhoeal - 6-15 hours
S. aureus - 2-6 hours
What is the Pathogenesis of Clostridium perfringens?
- Spores in food survive cooking
- Germination
- Heat labile Toxin produced
- Glucose transport inhibited, epithelium damaged
- Watery diarrhoea
What is a common source of C. Perfringens intoxication?
Meat
What are the common sources of bacterial intoxication?
Meat: clostridium perfringens
Rice / cereals: B. cereus emetic
Soup, vegetables, dairy: B. cereus diarrhoeal
Sugary, salty, processed food: S. aureus
Which organisms cause attaching and effacing lesion, but do not invade?
Vibrio cholerae Vibrio parahaemolyticus E. coli: - ETEC - EHEC - EPEC - EAggEC
Which bacterium is often found in marine water, and thus shellfish?
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
What is the source of the E. coli and V. Cholerae bacteria?
Faecally contaminated food or water
What is the Pathogenesis of V. Cholerae?
- Consumption of faecally contaminated food / drink
- Gets through mucus with flagella and mucinase
- Attaches with Tcp
- Cholera toxin: B5 binds, A enters the cell
- A turns on GTPase
- GTPase upregulates Adenylate cyclase
- Icreased cAMP in cell
- Na+, Cl- and H2O loss from cells
- Rice water stools
What are the virulence determinants of V. Cholerae?
Tcp (toxin co-regulated pilus)
Ctx (cholera toxin)
What is the structure of cholera toxin?
AB5
A: active, turns on GTPase
B5: binds to GM1 gangliosides
What is the pathogenesis of V. parahaemolyticus?
Not well understood
Invades intestinal cells, but does not produce a toxin
How can V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus be differentiated on a TCBS medium?
V. cholerae: yellow colonies
V. parahaemolyticus: green colonies
What is the Pathogenesis of ETEC?
- Faecally contaminated food / drink
- CFA attaches it to cells in the gut
- LT and ST produced
4a. LT (identical to Ctx) disrupts osmotic balance through cAMP
4b. ST increases cGMP –> cytotonic - Watery diarrhoea
What are the virulence determinants of ETEC?
CFA (colonisation factor antigen)
ST (heat stable toxin)
LT (heat labile toxin)
One of the ETEC toxins is identical to another?
Which is it?
LT is identical to Ctx
How can we detect ETEC in the lab?
PCR for ST and LT
Describe the pathogenesis of EPEC
- Faecally contaminated food / drink
- Bfp attaches bacteria to enterocyte
- TIII SS injects Tir into the cell
- Bacteria attaches to Tir with Intimin
- Polymerisation of F actin
- Pedestal forms
- Attaching and effacing lesion, watery diarrhoea
What are the virulence determinants of EPEC?
Bfp (bundle forming pilus)
Tir
Intimin
TIII SS
How may EPEC be diagnosed in a lab?
PCR for eae gene
PCR for Bfp gene
Fluorescent actin staining
Which bacteria can be transmitted at petting zoos?
EHEC
Describe the pathogenesis of EHEC
- Faecally contaminated food / drink
- Unknown fimbriae attachment
- TIII SS injects Tir and Esp –> binds to intimin
- Actin rearrangement, pedestal
- Attaching and effacing lesion
- Shiga toxin passes through enterocyte to endothelium
- Protein synthesis stops
- Bloody diarrhoea
Describe how Shiga toxin works
- Gets into cells by binding to Gb3 receptor
- Removes a nucleic acid from the ribosome
- Protein synthesis stops
- Vasculature of intestine damaged
- Blood diarrhoea
What are the virulence determinants of EHEC?
TIII SS Tir Intimin Esp Shiga toxin
How can EHEC be diagnosed in a lab?
PCR of eae gene (intimin)
Consumption of contaminated sprouts was linked to which bacterium?
EAggEC
Which bacteria are invading pathogens?
Salmonella
Shigella
Yersinia enterolytica
Campylobacter
Which viruses give rise to gastroenteritis?
Which one, that was talked about, doesn’t?
Norovirus
Rotavirus
Adenoviruses
Hep A doesn’t give rise to gastro
What is the Pathogenesis of Hep A?
- Faecally contaminated food / drink
- Invades blood stream via Peyer’s patches
- Circulates to liver
- Shedding in bile and faeces
Which groups is susceptible to rotavirus?
6 months - 2 years of age
What is the structure of rotavirus?
- Icosahedral
- Spokes
- Double shelled capsid.
This confers acid stability and a very low infective dose
What is the general incubation period for viruses causing Gastroenteritis?
2 days
Describe the Replication of rotavirus
- Intestinal trypsin causes proteolysis of spokes
- -> enhanced penetration - Uncoating
- Produces RNA-dep RNApol (not available in host cell)
- Copies genome
- Self-assembles
- Lyses out of cell
Which cells are susceptible in rotavirus infection?
The mature cells of the intestine
Crypt cells are not infected
Why does rotavirus bring about diarrhoea?
The villi become blunted as the virions lyse the mature cells
Immature cells have limited resorptive capacity
How can rotavirus be detected in the lab?
Electron microscopy
Antigen detection assays
What preventative methods are in place to protect babies from Rotavirus?
There is a vaccine that is rapidly reducing the number of cases
RotaTeq
What is an example of a Calicivirus?
Norovirus
What is the pathogenesis of norovirus?
Not well understood
- Faecally contaminated food / drink
- Binds to histo-blood group antigens
- Villus blunting
- Malabsorption of fat and lactose
- Diarrhoea
How may norovirus be detected in the lab?
Antigen detection assay
Electron microscopy
PCR for viral antigen