Overview Flashcards
What is an infection
Invasion of a hosts’s tissues by microorganisms not normally present in the body
What 3 factors manifest as a disease
Microbial multiplication
Toxins
Host response
How do people get infections
Illustrate
Source affects intermediary and patient Intermediary affects patient Patient affects patient Source affects environment which affects patient Animals affects environment and patient
How can patients give themselves infections
Microbiota (Commensals) on skin/ mucosal surfaces
Are normally harmless/ beneficial
Transfer to other sites can be harmful
Name 3 methods of horizontal transmission
Contact: Direct, Indirect, Vectors
Ingestion: Droplets, Aeorsols
Inhalation: Faecal/ oral
Compare droplets and aerosols
Droplets don’t go far
Aerosols stay suspended in air for hours
What are 3 ways to get infected from environment
Ingestion of contaminated food/ water
Inhalation of contaminated air
Contact with contaminated surfaces
Compare horizontal and vertical transmission
Horizontal: within a generation
Vertical: Down a generation (mother to child)
What is mean Corpuscular volume
Average size Of RBCs
What are the 5 first steps in how a micro-organism causes disease
Exposure Adherence Invasion Multiplication Dissemination
What is step 6 in getting diseased by a micro-organism
Production of virulence factors by viruses to increase their effectiveness
Give 2 examples of virulence factors
Endotoxins
Exotoxins; Cytolytic, AB Toxins, Enzymes, Superantigens
What is the final step in getting diseases by a micro-organism
Host Cellular damage
Name the 2 Divisions of disease determinants, as well as their sub-sections
Pathogen:
- Virulence factors
- Inoculum size
- Antimicrobial resistance
Patient:
- Infection site
- Co-morbidities
What 4 questions do we ask to see if a patient has an infection
- Is there an infection
- Where is the infection
- What is the cause of the infection
- What is the best treatment
