Neisseria Flashcards
Shape, motility, aerobic/anaerobic
- Kidney shaped diplococci
- Non motile
- Mostly aerobic (can grow in anaerobic conditions)
Culture medium used for neisseria
Specific: Mueller Hinton medium
Non specific: modified Thayer-Martin or modified chocolate agar.
They are fastidious, require 5% CO2 when incubated and need 48 hours to grow
Mode of transmission of Gonococci:
Humans are the only reservoir.
Transmitted by direct contact:
- Sexually
- Congenitally: passage of baby through infected birth canal
Why they can’t be transmitted by fomites?
Due to their high autolytic activity outside the host
Virulence factors of Gonococci:
Pili POR proteins OPA proteins LOS Rmp IgA1 protease Capsule Siderophores Beta-lactamase
About pili in gonococci:
Antiphagocytic, attachment to human mucosal epithelium, variable antigenicity within the same bacterial cell —> different types of pili —> no specific Ab
Strains without pili will not cause disease and can be part of the transient normal flora then swept away
About POR proteins in gonococci:
Antigenic
Form pores for nutrient transfer
Less variability than pili, can be within population not in the same bacterial cell
Bacteria can have no por protein, one or two por proteins
About OPA proteins in gonococci:
Give opacity to the colonies (same for capsule), when both absent, transparent nonvirulent colonies
Antigenic
One portion within the outer membrane, the rest is exposed to the outside
Adherence of bacteria together (aggregation), adherence of bacteria intracellularly in PMN, adherence to epithelial cells
Non virulent strains: no OPA protein
Gene can be transferred to bacteria by transformation
About LOS in gonococci:
Mimic some host cell antigens
Contain sialytransferase which will transport sialic acid from host cell and expose it on LOS
Most endotoxic activity of gonococci is related to LOS
About Rmp in Gonococci:
Active only when reduced
Most stable protein, it stabilizes other variable proteins
Participate in formation of pores with por proteins
Kill bactericidal Ab in the serum
About IgA protease:
Destruction of local IgA in mucosal surfaces, so no more first line of defense
What’s the function of the capsule?
Resists phagocytosis unless Ab are present (the capsule in most cases it’s not present)
What will be expressed when iron supply is limited?
Siderophores
Resistance to which antibiotics is developed in gonococci?
- resistance to penicillin (beta lactamase genes are found in the plasmids)
- resistance to tetracyclins (genes are transferred from streptococci by conjugation)
Target of gonococci
Mucosal membrane (Genital tract, rectum, throat, conjunctiva) where they have receptors.
How bacteria penetrate through mucosal surfaces?
They will bind to local mucosal cells and go deeper to the sub epithelial layer between cell junctions causing a chronic inflammatory state leading to the formation of pus.
What’s the name of the inflammation of rectum and anus?
Proctitis
What happens if the primary infection was in the pharynx or the rectum?
The probability of asymptomatic infection and carriage increases
Local effects of gonococci infection in babies
Ophthalmia neonatorum
About ophthalmia neonatorum:
It’s a purulent conjunctivitis
Appear 2 to 5 days after birth, if not treated within 48 hours it can lead to irreversible blindness
Inflammation and edema are l more severe than with chlamydia (bacteria that giving similar outcome)
How they used to treat babies? Why they stopped doing that?
Silver nitrate
It was replaced with antibiotics because of its toxicity
Which prophylaxis is given when the mother is infected?
Adding tetracyclines and erythromycin as ointments in the tear sacs of the baby for few days.
Local infection caused by gonococci in males:
Gonococcal urethritis
What’s the incubation period?
2-7 days
Manifestations of gonococcal urethritis:
Symptoms are: frequent urination, dysuria, hematuria and an important pyuria.
How can we differentiate between gonococcal urethritis and other urethritis?
We can differentiate gonococcal urethritis from other types by the yellow and creamy color of discharge.
What happens if it is left untreated?
If remained untreated, it can cause urethral stricture and carriage.
Local infection of gonococci in females:
Cervicitis that can progress to urethra and vagina.
It may also progress to fallopian tubes causing salpingitis which can lead to strictures. 20% of women who have become sterile. From fallopian tubes it can progress to peritoneal cavity closing peritonitis and infect capsule of the liver leading to Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome.
What’s pelvic inflammatory disease?
Abscess and pus in nearly all genital organs especially ovaries
Systemic infections caused by gonococci:
- Skin lesions ( erythematous papules, to pustular and hemorrhagic
- Septic arthritis
- Endocarditis
Where skin lesions could be found?
In the extremities not in the face or the trunk
What are the manifestations of septic arthritis?
It is marked by erythema and swelling of the ankle, knee or wrist?
When gonococci can lead to meningitis?
After a bacteremia