Microbiology of the Lower GI - Zimmer Flashcards
What are the GI system defenses of the intestines?
- Normal flora
- Peyer’s Patches
- M cell: conduit to PP, capable of transporting large antigens
What is the normal flora of the large intestines?
- Microbe rich, “microbiome” studied here
- Anaerobes
- Gram-negative rods
- Enterococcus – can survive wide range of stressors and environmental conditions
- Spirochetes
What are the first colonizers of breast-fed infants?
- facultative anaerobic bacterial groups such as:
- streptococci
- staphylococci
- enterococci
- lactobacilli
- enterobacteria
- together with some strictly anaerobic ones
- especially bifidobacteria
What are the first colonizers of formula-fed infants?
- microbiota → more diverse and prone to changes
- contains higher counts of:
- Bacteroides
- Clostridium
- Enterobacteriaceae
Why is the normal flora of the lower GI tract beneficial?
- Generate vitamins, help in digestion
- Stimulate the development of immunological tissues
- Prevent establishment and infection of alien microbes
What are the four mechanisms that microorganisms cause disease?
- Toxin production – bacteria release toxin that causes illness.
- Host immune response – response of host to microbe that causes illness.
- Microbial proliferation and invasion – growth and spread of microbes that causes damage that is significant in illness.
- Cancer – Microbe promotes uncontrolled proliferation of cells of host organism
When does true “food poisoning” occur?
- True food poisoning occurs after consumption of food containing toxins
- Symptoms begin almost immediately after ingesting the food with toxin in it
- 30 min to 6 hr incubation period
- Toxin is pre-formed
- Symptoms begin almost immediately after ingesting the food with toxin in it
How are food-associated infections different from food poisoning?
- Symptoms begin with a longer incubation period
- Organisms produce toxin in the GI tract or invade mucosal epithelium
What is a bacterial exotoxin when it targests the intestines?
Enterotoxin
(something bacteria excretes)
What three bacteria cause food poisoning by generating pre-formed toxins in food?
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Bacillus cereus
- Clostridium botulinum
What are the symptoms when S. aureus causes food poisoning?
- Nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea for 1-3 days
- Appear 1-7 hrs following ingestion of food
- Self-limiting, once toxin is gone, illness is gone
How do you get a positive diagnosis of S. aureus causing food poisoning?
- Toxin-producing S. aureus can be identified in stool or vomit
- Most conclusive test is the linking of an illness with a specific food, or in cases in which multiple vehicles exist, detection of pre-formed enterotoxin in food sample(s).
- Only necessary when tracking outbreaks
How does S. aureus cause food poisoning?
- Can generate 7 different toxins
- Ingestion of toxin, not the bacterium, is what causes the illness
- Toxin can survive high temperatures, although S. aureus cannot.
- However it is one of the most resistant non-spore forming human pathogens, survives in dry state for extended periods.
- S. aureus temperature range of 15°-45°C and NaCl concentrations as high as 15 percent for growth
Is antibiotic treatment a good option for S. aureus food poisoning?
No, antibiotics don’t target the toxin.
Bacillus cereus
Gm +/-
Spore forming?
Aerobe/Anaerobe
Hemolysis?
- Gram +
- Large Bacilli
- endospore-forming
- Facultative anaerobe
- Mostly motile
- Β hemolytic
- Box-car shaped gram positive rods
What is the Bacillus cereus reservoir?
Spores can survive rice cooking process
Where are Bacillus cereus spores commonly found?
B. Cereus spores are commonly found in the soil and sometimes in plant foods that are grown close to the ground – such legumes, cereals, spices etc..
What are the two forms of Bacillus cereus Food Poisoning?
-
Emetic (vomiting):
- 1 to 6 hours incubation
- Nausea and vomiting
- resembles the vomiting illness caused by Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins
-
Diarrheal:
- 6-15 hours incubation
- Watery diarrhea and abdominal cramps
- clinically similar to the symptoms of Clostridium perfringens infection
- Duration for both only about 24 hrs
What is the mechanism of Bacillus cereus Food Poisoning Emetic (vomiting) type?
- Mechanism:
- Caused by preformed enterotoxin that forms holes in membranes:
- Cereulide = an ionophoric low molecular-weight peptide that is pH-stable and heat- and protease- resistant
- Self limiting
- Caused by preformed enterotoxin that forms holes in membranes:
What is the mechanism of Bacillus cereus Food Poisoning Diarrheal type?
- Mechanism:
- Caused by large molecular weight enterotoxin that causes intestinal fluid secretion, probably by several mechanisms
- This toxin is not likely pre-formed!
- Ingestion of large amounts of bacteria cause it to generate the toxin in the small intestine
- Vulnerable populations might get sicker and require antibiotics
- Poor outcomes for systemic infection
How do you positively diagnose Bacillus cereus?
- Because of its ubiquity, B. cereus often is ignored or dismissed as a contaminant when found in a culture specimen.
- B. cereus in food and vomitus or feces of same serotype
- Large numbers of B. cereus of serotype known to produce endotoxin
- Only necessary when tracking outbreaks
Clostridium botulinum
Gm +/-
Shape
Aerobe/Anaerobe
- Gram +
- Bacilli (Rods with terminal spores)
- Spore-forming
- Obligate anaerobe
- Motile
- Clostridium
What are the three illnesses associated with C. botulinum?
- Foodborne botulism
- ingesting toxin in food
- Wound botulism
- generating toxic in wound
- Infant botulism
- ingesting spores
Not really a GI illness, diarrhea not prominent
How do you diagnose C. botulinum infection?
- Symptoms and history, results of physical exam indicate botulism
- Tests to exclude other causes of the illness
- Organism or toxin in stool sample only indirect evidence
What is the treatment for foodbourne C. botulinum infection?
- Ventilator if respiratory failure and paralysis
- Antitoxin if paralysis is not yet complete
- Remove contaminated food if still likely in gut
What kind of toxin does C. botulinum produce?
-
Neurotoxin
- irreversibly blocks the release of acetylcholine from the motoric end plate which results in muscle weakness and paralysis
What are the symptoms of Botulism?
- Toxin is absorbed from GI tract to bloodstream
- Symptoms
- Toxin already produced, symptoms can begin when toxin hits GI tract
- double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness
What are the symptoms of infant botulism?
- Incubation period, spores have to produce toxin-forming bacteria
- Sx:
- lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone
- Can lead to paralysis of respiratory system and other muscles
What foods reservoirs contain C. botulinum?
- Canned foods that have not been properly heat treated
- Honey
What are the five bacterias that cause food borne bacterial illness?
- Clostridium perfringens
- Salmonella enterica ssp.
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Vibrio parahaemolyticus
What are the mechanisms that food borne illness pathogens cause disease?
- Toxin production – bacteria release toxin that causes illness.
- Secretion of exotoxin
- Host immune response – response of host to microbe that causes illness.
- Microbial proliferation and invasion – growth and spread of microbes that causes damage that is significant in illness.
- Direct cellular invasion
- Sometimes replicate in cells, sometimes not
- Direct cellular invasion
What are the big 3 (for the US) Bacterial sources of food borne illness?
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Intestinal cell invasion
- Salmonella enterica
- Intestinal cell invasion
- Clostridium perfringens
- Enterotoxin
Clostridium perfringens
Gm +/-
Shape
Aerobe/Anaerobe
Motility
Toxin
- Gram +
- Bacilli
- Spore-forming
- Obligate anaerobe
- Non-motile
- Enterotoxin binds to receptors in endothelial cell junctions, then generates pores in host mucosa cells.
What are the symptoms of Clostridium perfringens Food Associated Illness?
- Diarrhea and abdominal cramps
- Incubation 6 to 24 hours (typically 8-12)
- Symptoms last for less than 24 hours
- Usually NO fever or vomiting
- The illness is not passed from one person to another
How do you positively diagnose Clostridium perfringens Food Associated Illness?
- Detection of toxin or high amounts of bacteria in feces
- C. perfringens normally present in the GI tract, the problem is when you ingest a C. perfringens load high enough to produce enough toxin to generate symptoms
- Commonly acquired in CAFETERIAS
- often occurs when foods are prepared in large quantities and kept warm for a long time before serving
Campylobacter jejuni
Gm +/-
Shape
Aerobe/Anaerobe
Motility
- Gram -
- Bacilli (Spirilli)
- microaerophilic
- Motile
- Cold sensitive
- Sensitive, sometimes killed before it can be cultured!
What agar is used to grow Campylobacter jejuni?
- Karmali agar is a selective medium:
- Charcoal-based.
- Because it is difficult to grow → must eliminate competing microorganisms
- Contains vancomycin active against the gram-positive organisms, cefoperazone active against many normal flora, cycloheximide active against yeasts
What are the symptoms in Campylobacteriosis caused by Campylobacter jejuni?
- Diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever
- 2-5 day incubation
- Symptoms can last a week
- Can have vomiting
- Diarrhea can be bloody!