Session 7 - E.Coli Flashcards
Where is e.coli usually found?
Routinely found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals, as well as being found in soil and water.
What is the gram stain of e.coli?
-‘ve
What shape is e.coli?
Rod shaped
What is the capsule of e.coli made of?
Lipopolysaccharide
How does e.coli respire?
Falculatative anaerobe
Give one special feature of e.coli
Posseses pili which are important for adherence to host
Give three diseases caused by e.colie
Travellers diarrhoea
UTI
Neonatal meningitis
Give two ways of getting an e.coli infection
Transmission from own colonies
Picking up other strains through faecal-oral transmission
How does e.coli cause travellers diarrhoea?
Enterotoxigenic e.coli
• Occurs due to contamination of human waste with faecal matter, or through person to person contact. ETEC colonise small intestine and secrete enterotoxins which cause hypersecretion of chloride ions and water by intestinal mucosal cells. Causes watery diarrhoea.
How does e.coli cause UTI?
• Patients own E. Coli travel to bladder via perineum and then urethra. Can cause cystitis and pyelonephritis in women
How does e.coli cause neonatal meningitis
E.coli acquired from mother during birth
How do you test for e.coli in travellers diarrhoea?
PCR of e.coli
Stool sample
How do you test for extraintestinal disease caused by e.coli (UTI/meningitis)
Isolation of e.coli from normally sterile locations
How do you treat travellers diarrhoea?
Oral rehydration
What antibiotic is used to treat UTI?
Ciprofloxacin
