Microbiology Flashcards
Main locations containing anaerobes
skin, oral cavity, gut, female genital tract
Claustridia spp lead to these types of diseases
Botulism, tetanus, gas gangrene, invasive skin infections, food poisoning, pseudomembranous colitis
Key characteristics of Clostridia spp (gram?, aero/anaero, etc)
Anaerobic, gram +, spore-forming rods
Type of Clostridia that is the most common cause of invasive infections?
C. perfringens
Clostridia virulence factor, what does it do?
Lecithinase- phospholipase that kills cells and hemolyzes RBCs –> muscle necrosis
Actinomyces key characteristics
Anaerobic, non-spore forming, gram + rods
Propionibacterium key characteristics
Anaerobic, non-spore forming, gram + rods
Gross and microscopic appearance of Actinomyces
Colony - molar appearance
G+ rods form chains
In abscesses, form “sulfur granules”
Where and when do actinomyces infections typically occur?
Lumpy Jaw!
Chronic suppurative and granulomatous infections of the cervico-facial area. Usually associated w/ poor oral hygiene or invasive dental surgery)
Most common cause of acne
Propionibacterium
Key characteristics of Baceroides
Anaerobic, gram (-), non-spore forming rods, catalase +, SOD +, can grow in bile, and beta-lactamase +
Bacteroides has a _________ that makes it anti-phagocytic.
Polysaccharide capsule
Keys in lab Dx of Bacteroides (resistance, plating, etc).
Makes beta-lactamases, can grow in bile
Manifestations of cat bites vs dog bites
Cats: hands/upper extremities, deep abscess/osteomyelitis
Dogs: depressed/open skull fx, severe scalp and intracranial bleeding
Capnocytophaga canimorsus
Normal flora in dogs and cats
Can cause myocarditis, endocarditis, meningitis
Resistant to TMX/SMX and aminoglycosides
Pasteurella multocida
Nasopharynx of cats
Causes local cellulitis, low-grade fever
Sensitive to beta-lactams, azithromycin
Avoid erythromycin, clindamycin
Oral drug of choice in dog/cat bites
Amoxicillin-clavulanate
IV drug of choice in dog/cat bites
B-lactam + B-lactamase inhibitors
Cat scratch disease pathogen
Bartonella henselae
Cat scratch disease symptoms
Papule or pustule, fever, lymphadenopathy (1-3 wks after exposure), most cases resolve spontaneously
Common pathogens in human bites
Staph, strep, Eikenella, Fusobacterium, Peptostrep, Prevotella, Porphyromonas
Boar/pig bite treatment
amoxicillin +/- ciprofloxacin
Rat bite fever pathogen
Streptobacillus moniliformis, Spirillum minus
Symptoms: fever, migratory polyarthralgias
Treat w/ penicillin
Endocarditis is most common complication
Seal finger pathogen
Mycoplasma spp causes a papular lesion
Treat w/ tetracyclines
Herpes B Virus characteristics
Endemic in macaques, persists in sensory ganglia for lifetime
Vesicular lesion, paresthesias –> seizures, ascending paralysis, respiratory failure
1st Phase of rabies
Flu-like
Discomfort, prickling/pruritic sensation at bite site
2nd Phase of rabies
Anxiety, confusion, agitation
Delerium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, insomnia, hydrophobia
3rd Phase of rabies
Coma, death
What are the 4 sample sites required by the CDC to rule out rabies
Saliva, neck biopsy, serum, CSF
Name the fish that causes UTI problems
Candiru - crawls up urethra
Clinical presentation of tetanus
Painful muscular contractions of masseter, neck muscles, trunk muscles, abdomen, generalized spasms, seizures
Treatment of tetanus toxin
Tetanus immune globulin, toxoid booster, antibiotics, ventilation, sedation, muscle relaxants
Definition of wound infection
1 of the following: Organisms cultured, purulent drainage, abscess, and 2 of the following: localized pain/tenderness, redness, swelling, or heat
Major wound pathogen in Iraq
Actinetobacter baumannii
Predominate type of infection to come out of Afghanistan
Invasive fungal infections
Preferred antibiotic used in infected wounds (except burns)
Cefazolin
Key characteristics of Bacillus anthracis
Gram +, aerobic/facultatively anaerobic, spore-forming, rods forming long fillaments
List Bacillus anthracis virulence factors
Polypeptide capsule, toxins: edema toxin (EF+PA), lethal toxin (LF+PA). PA is protective antigen
How does B. anthracis’s lethal factor work?
Cleaves MAPKK to inhibit the MAPK signal transduction pathway in macrophages
How is B. anthracis transmitted to humans
Herbivores infected after grazing in infected soil, anthracis is then transmitted via contact w/ infected animal products, during inhalation-industrial settings
Also used as a bioterror weapon
Cutaneous anthrax clinical description
Most common type, contracted via exposure to animals, forms a black eschar (painless, edema), 80-90% complete resolution, can progress to bacteremia and death
GI anthrax clinical description
Rare, comes from ingestion of spore-contaminated meat. Ulcers form at site of invation –> regional lymphadenopathy, edema, and sepsis
Mortality >50%
Inhalational anthrax clinical description
Incubate 1-43 days, non-specific symptoms 3-5 days, then terminal phase
Terminal phase of inhalational anthrax symptoms
Hemorrhagic mediastinitis –> dyspnea, stridor, cyanosis, chest pain, chest wall edema, shock and death
Meningitis in 50%, GI hemorrhage in 90%
Chest X-ray features of B. anthracis
Widened mediastinum w/ pleural effusions w/out infiltrates
Inhalational anthrax treatment
Ciprofloxacin + Clindamycin + Rifampin
Anthrax vaccine
Inactivated - supernatant of attenuated, non-encapsulated strain, composed primarily of protective antigen
Yersinia pestis key characteristics
Gram (-) coccobacillus, rows well on MacConkey’s agar, facultative intracellular