Medical microbiology Flashcards
What are categories of microorganism that cause infection?
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Fungi
- Parasites
- Prions
What are the two main sites of specimen collection?
Sterile and non-sterile sites
What are examples of sterile sites?
Bloods
CSF
Lung
Bladder
What are examples of non-sterile sites?
Skin
Nasopharynx
Urethra
Gut
Give examples of infections and how you would sample them
UTI - Mid-stream urine Chest infection - sputum Tonsilitis/pharyngitis - throat swab Wound or site infection - swab or pus Diarrhoea - faeces Bacteraemia - blood culture Meningitis - cerebro-spinal fluid
What is the role of microscopy in diagnosis of bacterial infection?
Useful technique for sterile samples where you want to get a quick result.
Gives in initial idea of the type of bacteria
What is the role of Gram stain in diagnosis of bacterial infection?
Relatively quick test that lacks sensitivity
Can’t usually identify particular species
What is the role of bacterial culture in diagnosis of bacterial infection?
Sensitive
Can identify different bacterium and stave off others depending on what conditions you’re interested in
Slow, can take a couple of days or up to a week for TB
Conditions you can alter for bacterial culture
Type of media, non-selective (blood, chocolate) or selective (MacConkey)
Atmosphere
Temperature
Duration of incubation
How do you detect viruses?
- Molecular methods, real time PCR
- Antigen detection
- Serology
- Rarely used methods, electron microscopy or cell or tissue culture
How do you diagnose parasites?
- Microscopy: parasites, cysts, ova in faces or blood films for malaria
- Sometimes serology to see past exposure