Microbiology of the GI tract Flashcards
Vibrio vulnificus
Food poisoning.
Found in seafood.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Bacillus cereus
Food poisoning.
Found in reheated rice.
Gram-positive bacterium.
Staphylococcus aureus
Food poisoning.
Found in contaminated meat and mayonnaise.
Gram-positive bacterium.
Clostridium botulinum
Food poisoning.
Found in poorly canned foods.
Gram-positive bacterium.
Escherichia coli O157:H7
Food poisoning and diarrhoea.
Found in meat that is undercooked.
Enteropathogenic E. coli causes diarrhoea in children.
Also causes haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS).
Gram-negative bacterium.
Campylobacter jejuni
Bloody diarrhoea.
Found in animal faeces and poultry.
Associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an ascending paralysis.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Salmonella
Bloody diarrhoea.
Found in contaminated food.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Shigella
Bloody diarrhoea.
Produces shiga toxin.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Yersinia enterocolitica
Bloody diarrhoea.
Associated with outbreaks in nurseries.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Enterotoxic Escherichia coli
Traveller’s diarrhoea.
Usually self-limiting.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Vibrio cholerae
Rice water diarrhoea.
Produces cholera toxin.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidiosis.
Associated with AIDS patients.
Protozoon.
Norwalk virus
Gastroenteritis.
Most common viral cause of nausea and vomiting.
Helicobacter pylori
Risk factors for peptic ulcers, gastritis and gastric adenocarcinoma.
Produces urease.
Treat with ‘triple therapy’, i.e. a proton pump inhibitor with either clarithromycin and amoxicillin or clarithromycin and metronidazole.
Gram-negative bacterium.
Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasmosis.
Cysts are found in meat or cat faeces.
Causes brain abscesses in AIDS patients.
Protozoon.
