Midterm #2 Review Flashcards
gram positive, spore forming rods
- Bacillus anthracis
- Bacillus cereus
- Clostridium tetani
- Clostridium botulinum
- Clostridium perfringens
- Clostridium difficile
gram positive, spore forming, aerobic
- Bacillus anthracis
- Bacillus cereus
gram positive, spore forming, anaerobic
- Clostridium tetani
- Clostridium botulinum
- Clostridium perfringens
- Clostridium difficile
gram positive, non-spore forming
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Corynebacterium diptheriae
gram negative bacilli
- Salmonellae
- Shigellae
- Escherichia coli
- Cronobacter spp.
- Vibrio and Campylobacter
- Pseudomonas
- Legionella
- Helicobacteraceae
- Alcaligenaceae
- gram positive
- spore forming
- aerobic
- causative agent of anthrax
- unique protein capsule; antiphagocytic
- exotoxin composed of 3 proteins
Bacillus anthracis
- gram positive
- spore forming
- aerobic
- motile
- non-encapsulated
- resistant to penicillin
- causes food poisoning
Bacillus cereus
- gram positive
- spore forming
- anaerobic
- produces lethal neurotoxin that causes rapidly fatal food poisoning
- neurotoxin blocks release of Ach in ANS
- causes botulism
Clostridium botulinum
- gram positive
- spore forming
- anaerobic
- exotoxin is called tetanospasmin
- causes tetanus
- spores found in soil and animal feces
Clostridium tetani
- gram positive
- spore forming
- anaerobic
- causative agent of gas gangrene
- 2 classes of infection: cellulitis/wound infection and clostridial myonecrosis
Clostridium perfingens
- gram positive
- spore forming
- anaerobic
- responsible for antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous enterocolitis
- infects the colon
- releases exotoxins
- exotoxin A: causes diarrhea
- exotoxin B: is cytotoxic to colonic cells
Clostridium difficile
- gram positive
- non-spore forming
- can cross 3 protective barriers
- psychrophile
- causes disease known as listeriosis in high risk individuals
Listeria monocytogenes
- gram positive
- non-spore forming
- pathogen responsible for diptheria
- colonizes the pharynx, forming grayish pseudomembrane composed of fibrin, leukocytes, necrotic epithelial cells, and its own cells
Corynebacterium diptheriae
- gram negative
- lactose non-fermenters
- motile
- causes enterocolitis and enteric fever
Salmonellae
- min dose of 10^5 required for symptoms to occur
- short incubation period (6-48hrs, usually 8-12hrs)
- caused by many serotypes of S. enterica
Enterocolitis (Gastroenteritis): key features
clinical:
- nausea, vomiting, profuse diarrhea
- fever, chills, headache, myalgia
- recovery within 2-3 days
- septicemia; rare complication in susceptible hosts
diagnosis:
- stool culture
Enterocolitis (Gastroenteritis): clinical and diagnosis
epidemiology:
- infection by ingestion of contaminated food or drink
- animal products and animals are major sources
- person-to-person spread may occur
treatment:
- antimicrobials not recommended
Enterocolitis (Gastroenteritis): epidemiology and treatment
- S. enterica serovar Typhi causes typhoid fever
- S. enterica serovar Paratyphi causes paratyphoid fever
- generalized infection
- multiplication in lymphoid tissue
- mortality is about 10% if left untreated
- survivors usually become convalescent carriers or chronic carriers
Enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid): key features
convalescent carrier
excreting bacteria for up to 3 months
chronic carrier
excreting bacteria for 6 months or occasionally life long
Enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid): diagnosis and epidemiology
diagnosis:
- isolation of organism from blood (1st week)
- isolation of organism from stool and urine (2nd-3rd week)
epidemiology:
- human carriers are only known reservoir
- infective dose is about 10^6
- major vehicles are sewage contaminated drinking water, shellfish, contaminated milk/milk products
- chronic carriers maintain endemic typhoid
Enteric fever (typhoid and paratyphoid): prevention
- sanitary disposal of human faeces
- scrupulous cleanliness while handling food
- purification and chlorination of water supplies
- vaccines are available but are of low efficacy
Escherichia coli (E. coli)
- gram negative bacilli
- lactose fermenters
- most numerous aerobic species of the normal human intestinal flora
- most frequent cause of UTIs
- type of E. coli
- major cause of infant diarrhea in developing countries
- frequent cause of traveller’s diarrhea
- enterotoxins
Enterotoxigenic E. coli
- type of E. coli
- bloody diarrhea and dysentery similar to Shigella species
Enteroinvasive E. coli
- type of E. coli
- can cause severe diarrhea in infants, especially in developing countries
Enteropathogenic E. coli
- type of E. coli
- haemorrhagic collitis
- hamburger disease
- proper handling of food, safe preparation, and proper cooking practices are essential to prevent illness
E. coli O157:H7
- may colonize and infect hospitalized patients
- causes wound infections, bacteremia, and hospital acquired pneumonia
- may be naturally resistant to antibiotics
- Cronobacter Sakazakii linked to outbreaks of contaminated powdered infant formula
Cronobacter spp.
- gram negative bacterium
- produces an enterotoxin (cholera toxin)
- causes cholera: acute gastrointestinal illness
- profuse watery diarrhea (10-15 litres per day), cramps and vomiting
- enterotoxin binds cells in small intestine, cells secrete chlorides, Na+ absorption decreases, water accumulates in gut –> watery diarrhea
- can lead to severe dehydration and death if left untreated
- mainly water-borne
Vibrio cholerae
Campylobacter
- C. jejuni and C. coli
- major cause of human enteritis
- symptoms: fever, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea
- maybe one cause of traveller’s diarrhea
- normal flora in birds and domestic animals
- some strains invasive, others toxigenic
- opportunistic pathogen
- found in many moist habitats and water
- source of infection can be humidifiers, etc.
- treatment is difficult because all pseudomonas are resistant to many antibiotics
Pseudomonas
- type of pseudomonas
- respiratory pathogen in cystic fibrosis patients
- infections in lesions of burn patients
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- type of pseudomonas
- common contaminant of saline solutions and water
- able to multiply in low nutrient environment
- respiratory pathogen in cystic fibrosis patients
Pseudomonas cepacia
Haemophilus influenzae: key features and treatment
- part of normal nasopharyngeal flora in many adults and children
- causes invasive infection of young children
- meningitis, pneumonia, joint infections
- treatment: development of vaccine has decreased the number of cases in Canada
- can cause increased bronchial inflammation in patients already having chronic bronchitis
- microaerophillic, spiral bacilli
- most common cause of stomach ulcers
- urease: protection from low pH
- triple therapy treatment: antibiotics and H+ pump inhibitors
Helicobacter pylori
Bordetella pertussis and its 4 virulence factors
- whooping cough (violent cough)
- 4 virulence factors:
1. pertussis toxin (A-B)
2. extra cytoplasmic adenylate cyclase (weakens host defense)
3. filamentous heamgglutinin (bronchial attachment and exotoxin release)
4. tracheal cytotoxin (destroys ciliated cells –> poor clearance of mucous and bacteria) - prevention: vaccination with heat-killed organism
- causes legionnaires disease
- opportunistic pathogen
- may cause severe pneumonia
- grows in water and is found in shower heads, water tanks, air cooling/heating tanks
- exposure is by aerosol and there is no person-to-person transmission
Legionella pneumophila
- no cell invasion - bacteria bind to intestinal epithelial cells but do not enter the cell
- diarrhea caused by release of exotoxins (enterotoxins in the GI tract)
- enterotoxins cause electrolyte and fluid loss
- watery diarrhea with systemic symptoms (fever) - example includes Vibrio cholera
diarrhea - with or without systemic invasion
- factors allow binding and invasion of cell
- toxins released destroy the cells
- systemic immune response (fever)
- cell death results in blood stools
- examples include E. coli O157:H7
diarrhea with invasion of intestinal epithelial cells
- abdominal pain and diarrhea containing red and white cells
- fever, headache, and increased white cell counts
- examples include Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, Yersinia entercolitica, Campylobacter jejuni
diarrhea with invasion of lymph nodes and bloodstream
biochemical classification of gram negative bacteria
- ability to ferment lactose to gas and acid
- production of H2S
- ability to hydrolyze urea
- ability to liquify gelatin
- ability to decarboxylate specific amino acids
- growth media (EMB and MacConkey)
- classified based of surface structure
classification of gram negative bacteria: ability to ferment lactose to gas and acid
E. coli and most enterobacteriaceae ferment lactose while Salmonella, Shigella, and Pseudomonas do not
Eosine-methylene-blue (EMB)
- methylene blue inhibits gram positive
- lactose fermenters are deep purple to black
MacConkey
- bile salts inhibit gram positive
- lactose fermenters develop pink-purple colouration
3 major surface antigens of the enterics
O antigen
- most external component of LPS
- differs from enteric to enteric
K antigen
- this is a capsule that covers the O antigen
H antigen
- is part of the subunits of the bacterial flagella (only motile bacteria with have H antigen)
mycobacteria
- group of bacteria including the causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy
- high content of lipids (waxes)
- waxy coat renders bacteria resistant to disinfectants and interferes with gram stain
- mycobacteria are acid fast and resist decolourization
- use Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique (acid-fast technique)
Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique
- Ziehl-Neelsen carbol fuchsin to the slide for 5 minutes while applying heat
- follow with a gently wash with water to cool the slide
- acid alcohol is now added to decolourize the slide
- wash the slide in water again and counterstain with methylene blue for 1-2 minutes
- chronic slow-progressing pulmonary infection
- transmission by aerosol droplets
- obligate aerobe, facultative intracellular parasite
- 4-6 weeks to see colonies on a plate
- Lowenstein-Jensen medium
- use microscopy of sputum smears as first line of diagnosis
- infection develops in stages
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
primary tuberculosis
- aerosol inhalation
- bacteria multiplication in alveoli
- macrophage ingestion of bacilli and formation of 1* complex
- foci of infection in lungs (may be spread to kidneys, bones, meninges)
~ 6 weeks ~ - CMI is fully active, infection is stopped (majority of cases)
- some bacilli survive, reactivation several years later
post-primary tuberculosis
- late reactivation of lesions in lungs, kidneys, bones, etc
- 5% of cases, higher in patients with AIDS
- chronic infection
immunity in tuberculosis
- cell-mediated immunity is most important (T-cells)
- mantoux test is done to test immunity
mantoux test
- tuberculin solution is injected intradermally
- wait 48-72 hours
- check for induration
- record diameter of induration
>10mm: positive
5-9mm: doubtful, maybe cross reaction with other mycobacteria
<4mm: negative - a positive test does not necessarily mean there is currently an active infection
atypical mycobacteria
- occasionally isolated from patients with chronic pulmonary disease
- M. kansassi, M. avium, M. intracellulare
- indisguishable from TB
- higher resistance to anti-TB drugs
- give ‘doubtful’ mantoux test (5-9mm)
- M. marinum
- M. fortuitum
- all these infection are most typically seen in the immunocompromised
M. marinum
skin infections
M. fortuitum
soft tissue abscesses
mycobacterium leprae
- causes leprosy
- 2 kinds: tuberculoid leprosy and lepromatous leprocy
- rarely found in developed countries
- visible nerve enlargment
- few erythmatous plaques
- few bacilli in infected tissues
- many lymphocytes and granulomas in infection tissues
- low infectivity
tuberculoid leprosy
- no visible nerve enlargment
- many erythromatous nodules
- many bacilli in infected tissue
- high infectivity
lepromatous leprosy
spirochetes
- spiral shape pathogens
treponema pallidum
- causes syphilis
- non-gram stainable, helical bacteria
- unculturable in vivo
- use dark field microscopy
primary syphilis
- appearance of chancre 3-4 weeks after infection
- fluid from lesion contains bacteria -> seen under dark field microscopy
secondary syphilis
- 6 weeks after appearance of chancre
- generalized or local rash
- mucosal lesions with many treponemes
- spontaneous remission may occur after 1 or 2 phase
- no symptoms of infection
- non-transmittable after 4 years
- congenital infection may occur
which phase of syphilis?
latent syphilis
- obliterative endarteritis
- can involve skin, mucosae, nervous system, cardiovascular system and tissues
- very rare
- can cause lethal symptoms
which type of syphilis?
late syphilis
serology testing for syphilis
2 step serology test:
non-treponemal tests (VDRL, RPR, Wassermann)
- non-specific: use cardiolipin as antigen
- screening
- positive in early stages
treponemal tests
- specific: use treponemal extracts
- FTA-ABS: fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption
- MHA-TP: microhemagglutination of T. pallidum
- used to confirm positive VDRL
- lyme disease
- tick bites
- affects skin, joints, nervous system, and heart
- common in US, rare in Canada
- use serology for diagnosis (ELISA)
- organism is very difficult to see under microscope
- difficult to culture
- serology does not give positive result in first 2-4 weeks of infection
borrelia burgdorferi