Microbiology of the GU tract (incomplete) Flashcards
List bacteria causing STI
Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhoea) Mycoplasma genitalium Treponema pallidum (syphilis)
List virus causing STI
Herpes simplex (genital herpes) Hepatitis and HIV (not covered in this lecture)
List Parasites causing STI
Trichomonas vaginalis
Phthirus pubis (pubic lice or “crabs”)
Scabies (not covered in this lecture)
Reason for a specific bug causing a specific syndrome
Proclivity for one or more tissues
Predictable inflammatory response.
Sonococci that infect the male urethra generally produce an intense neutrophil response that leads to a purulent discharge and pain with urination
C. trachomatis:in the same tissue, more likely to produce a mild, watery discharge or no symptoms at all.
If you are testing for one organism, should you test for other organisms as well?
YES.
Coinfections are common.
STI pathogens move together: gonorrhea and chlamydia cause urethritis; genital ulcers greatly increase the probability of HIV acquisition.
Pre-test probability matters
Which bacterial species is most common in vaginal flora?
Lactobacillus spp. predominate and are protective
- e.g L.crispatusandL. jensenii
Other organisms in vaginal flora
+/- Group B beta-haemolytic Streptococcus - need to be eradicated in pregnant patients
+/- Candida spp. (small numbers)
+/-Strep “viridans” group
Predisposing factors for candida infection
Recent antibiotic therapy
High oestrogen levels (pregnancy, certain types of contraceptives)
Poorly controlled diabetes
Immunocompromised patients
Description of candida
“cottage cheese”
“curdy”
Presentation of candida
intensely itchy white vaginal discharge
Diagnosis of candida
clinical
high vaginal swab for culture
Treatment of candida infection
Topical clotrimazole pessaryor cream, (available OTC)
Oral fluconazole
Non-albicans Candida species
More likely to be azole resistant
Presentation of candida infection in males
Spotty rash of candida balanitis
Less common
Not sexually transmitted
Pathogenesis of gonococcal infection
Incubation period of urethral infection in males - SHORT (2-5 days)
Attaches to host epithelial cells and is endocytosed into the cell to replicate within the host cell and are released into the subepithelial space
Typical urethral infections result in prominent inflammation release of toxic lipo-oligosaccharide and peptidoglycan fragments as well as the release of chemotactic factors that attract neutrophilic leukocytes.
Gram stain features of gonorrhoea
Gram -ve intracellular diploccocus
Neisseria gonorrhoea infects which parts of the body?
urethra
rectum
throat & eyes
endocervix
Which is more common? Gonorrhoea or Chlamydia?
Chlamydia
Morphology of Neisseria gonorrhoea
gram negative diplococcus
Looks like 2 kidney beans facing each other
easily phagocytosed by polymorphs - intracellular appearance on gram film
Other tests for N. Gonorrhoea
Microscopy of urethral/endocervical swabs
- Done in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) clinic – 90+% specificity in males, less in females
Culture on selective agar plates
- Selective agar suppresses growth of normal flora
- Done on endocervical, rectal and throat swabs but NOT high vaginal swabs
- Now only done on patients attending SRH clinic in Tayside
- Swabs from GP patients were often falsely culture negative as organism would die during transit to lab
- Non selective media used where no competing flora are expected (e.g. synovium)
Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs)
increase in sensitivity over culture
ability to test urine specimens and self-obtained vaginal swabs,
Inability to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Poor/ inadequately defined positive predictive value of some NAATs when they are used to test low-prevalence populations.
Where the prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae is now well below 1%, the risk of false-positive screening results may be high, and reliable results depend on the use of assays with exquisite specificity.
Will detect dead organisms (have to wait 5 weeks to do “test of cure” tests)
Features of chlamydia trachomatis
Gram non-staining but behaves as gram -ve.
Most common bacterial STI
Obligate intracellular bacteria with biphasic life cycle - “energy parasite”
Does not reproduce outside host cell
Which areas does Chlamydia trachomatis infect?
urethra
rectum
throat and eyes
endocervix
Treatment of chlamydia
Azithomycin (1g oral dose) for uncomplicated chlamidia
Doxycycline 100mg bd x 7 days - this is what is currently stated in guidelines
Which serovars (serological subgrouping) of chlamydia trachomatis causes gential infection?
D-K
Which serological grouping of Chlamydia Trachomatis is identical to Crohn’s disease?
Serovars L1 to L3
Lymphogranuloma Venerum
What treatmet options are available to patients who cannot tolerate azithromycin or doxacyline with chlamydia?
erythromycin
ofloxacin
Diagnosing chlamydia and gonorrhoea
combined NAAT or PCR - tests for both organism in 1 test.
Men: first pas urine sample (not midstream)
Female: HVS or vulvo-vaginal swab (VVS) which can be either self taken or endocervical swab which is clinician taken
Rectal and throat swabs
Eye swabs (babies and adults)
Features of Trichomonas Vaginalis
Single celled protozoal parasite
divides by binary fission (no cyst form is known) – human host only
Transmitted by sexual contact
Clinical features of Trichomonas vaginalis
vaginal discharge and irritation in females
Urethritis in males
How to diagnose T. vaginalis
High vaginal swab
No good test for males