Micro- Vector Borne Infections Flashcards
What 2 genera are considered to be in the Rickettsiaceae family?
What 4 genera are in the Anaplasmataceae family?
Rickettsia:
- rickettsia
- orientia
Anaplasmatacaeae
- anaplasma
- ehrlichia
- neorickettsia
- wolbachia
Rickettsia genera has more than 30 species associated with human disease. The genera is further broken down into what 2 groups?
- spotted fever group
2. typhus group
Orientia only has one species. What is it and what does it cause?
O. tsutsugamushi
It causes scrub typhus
What is the size, shape, and gram stain capacity of Rickettsia and Orientia?
What is required to grow the in vitro? Why?
They are small, pleomorphic gram negative coccobacilli
They contain non-toxic LPS and peptidoglycan.
To grow in vitro, they require living cells like yolk sac of embryonated eggs or tissue culture cell lines because they are OBLIGATE INTRACELLULAR parasites
Rickettsia species are found worldwide. Each species has a specific arthropod vecor and one or ore animal reservoirs. What are the 4 arthropod vectors?
- hard tick–RMSF, tick typhus
- mites– richettsialpox, scrub typhus
- lice–
- fleas– endemic typhus
What intracellular parasite causes RMSF?
What is the primary reservoir?
Where are endemic areas in the US?
What is the seasonal preference and arthropod vector?
Intracellular parasite: Rickettsia Rickettsii
Primary reservoir: rodents [although other mammals can be hosts as well]
Endemic areas: 1. Mid-Atlantic states 2. Texas, Oklahoma - Lonestar tick 3. Southeastern US - Dog tick [in the west, it is the wood tick]
Seasonal preference: spring/summer
How does transmission of the infection differ from Lyme disease in the Ixode tick vs. Rickettsia Rickettsii in the wood, lone star and dog ticks?
Rickettsia is maintained by transovarial transmission [Vertical].
Lyme disease is not maintained by vertical transmission
What intracellular parasite causes rickettsialpox?
What is the natural reservoir? arthropod vector?
What are the 2 ways the infection is maintained?
What environment does it occur in?
Rickettsia akari
Natural reservoir: wild rodents/mice
Arthropod vector: mite
Maintained by:
- mice-to-mice transfer via mites
- maintained in mites via vertical transmission
Environment: worldwide, but prefers drier environment
What disease is caused by:
R. conorii
R. australis
R. africae
Where do they occur? What is the arthropod vector?
Tick Typhus in the Mediterranean, Australia and Africa respectively.
Vector: brown dog tick
What are the two forms of typhus?
What is the vector for each type?
What intracellular parasite causes each?
What is the main reservoir of each?
- Epidemic
- human louse borne
- R. prowazekii
- reservoir : humans [crowding, poor hygiene, poverty] or squirrels [southern flying squirrel] - Endemic
- flea-borne [the rat flea]
- R. typhi
- reservoir: rats, mice, rodents in Texas, southern border states
What is the intracellular parasite and reservoir/vector of scrub typhus?
How is the parasite maintained?
Orientia tsutsugamushi
Reservoir/vector: mite
Maintained by transovarial transmission
What is the pathogenesis of Rickettsia?
- infecting organism is introduced to human host by a bite, but the tick must stay attached for 24-48 hrs to transmit the Rickettsia
- local replication
- bacteremic spread
- enters host cell by stimulating phagocytosis, then degrading the phagosome using bacterial phospholipase to enter cytoplasm
Where do the following grow within the host cell?
How are they released?
- spotted fever group [rickettsii, akari, africa, australis, coronii]
- orientia
- typhus group [prowazekii, typhi]
Why does this difference exist?
- grow in the cytoplasm and released by membrane protrusion
- grow in the nucleus and released from membrane protrusion
- grow in cytoplasm and released by lysis of host cell
Spotted fever group has the ability to polymerize actin.
How do Rickettsia get energy?
- make their own ATP via TCA cycle
2. parasitize the host cell ATP by means of bacterial ATP translocase
What are the primary sites of replication in Rickettsia infection?
Vascular endothelium leading to:
1. vasculitis due to cell dysfunction and death leading to capillary damage and leaking of blood cells into perivascular tissue –> petechial hemorrhage
- exposed subendothelium activates clotting cascade leading to thrombosis and necrosis
In general ALL rickettsial infections are characterized by what features?
What is the range of incubation period?
- Fever, headache, malaise, prostration
- Skin Rash
- enlargement of spleen and liver
Incubation is 2-15 days with most lingering around 1 wk
A patient presents with a high fever, chills, headache and myalgias. He said it was rapid onset, but he didn’t seek help because he thought it was some viral thing. He had been camping in the woods last week in Georgia and wasn’t sure he cooked his food properly. About 3 to 5 days into the fever, he got a maculopapular rash on his wrists, ankles, palms&soles. The rash spread to his trunk and became petechial. He did NOT have eschar or tache noir.
What is the presumptive diagnosis?
RMSF
- endemic area [southeast-dog tick]
- fever, malaise, headache followed 3 days later by rash
- rash involves palms, soles, wrists, ankles with CENTRIPETAL SPREAD
- unlike the other rickettsial diseases, there was no eschar or tache noir marking the site where the tick bit him
What is case fatality for RMSF in elderly and children?
What increases the fatality rate?
Elderly =50%
Children= 20%
Fatality is increased by delaying until after the presentation of the rash
What characterisitic of the RMSF rash differentiates it from the other rickettsial diseases?
Centripetal nature [starts on wrists, ankles and then works inward]
How does tick typhus presentation differ from RMSF?
- milder, less fatal
- less prominent rash that usually appears on trunk
- tache noir at site of tick bite