Microbial Contamination 🦠 Flashcards
Definition of microbial contamination
Microbiological contamination refers to the unintended or accidental introduction of infectious material like bacteria, yeast, mould, fungi, virus, prions, Protozoa, or their toxins and by products.
How may contaminants alter the physical stability of a product?
Microorganisms release metabolites such as sour fatty acids, fishy amines=disagreeable taste and smell
Microbial pigments cause discolouration.
Viscosity enhancing agents e.g. acacia and tragacanth can be depolymerised but microbes= loss in viscosity and settling of suspensions
Polymerisation of sugars and surfactants aided by presence of microbes forms slimy and viscous masses in creams and syrups and prescience of fungal growth leads to gritty texture in creams.
What two opportunistic pathogens affect shelf life stability and product safety?
Candida and clostridium
What are the two types of human micro flora??
Transient and resident
What are transient microbes??
Microbes which are deposited on the human body but don’t necessarily colonise. Transient microbes found on the surface of the body are deposited either from the environment or from other body sites and can easily be removed with soap and water.
What are resident microbes??
Microbes that have a long association with the human body. Deeply located on human body. Part of the innate host defence as they compete with other Harmful invading microbes. Can be removed using antiseptic or disinfecting hand wash or scrub.
When a human sneezes or coughs and transfers microbes through respiratory droplets what is it known as and explain.
Known bioaerosols or fomites which are suspended particles in the air that may contain bacteria, moulds, viruses or spores or they could be produced by living organisms growing in liquid culture media.
What can respiratory generated aerosols released by an infected patient called and give examples?
Respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and influenza
What is legionnaires disease and what is it caused by??
Form of pneumonia cause by gram negative bacterium Legionella pneumophilia.
What are dry aerosols generated by and give an example of a microbe that can be spread in such a way
Dried saliva, phlegm or respiratory droplets
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Which products in use are at high risk of contamination?
Topical products such as creams
Oral products such as syrups and suspensions
Large stock pots with zinc based products
Multi dose products
Which microbes are topical products contaminated by?
Staphylococcus sp
Micrococcus sp
Pseudomonas sp
