Spirochetes

Question 1

Spirochette

Answer 1

Appearance: Coiled, motile
Detection: Immunofluoresenc testing ot dark-field microscopy

Question 2

Borrelia burgdorferi

Answer 2

LYME DISEASE
Pathogenesis: Deer tick (Ixodes) bite the disseminates through blood. Will characteristically lead to arthritis in knees, hips, or elbows. Note: tick must have been attached to you for AT LEAST 24 hours.
Culture: Hard to culture in lab. dumb small.
Lives: Mice and deer. More prevalent to get bits in spring and summer since nymphas are high in presence at this time.
Epidemiology: Lyme disease = most common vector borne illness in US and europe
Treatment: Remove the damn tick…and use Doxycycline
Virulence factors: Surface lipoproteins OspA-F. They allow attachment of B. burgdorferi to mammalian cell. Vaccine too, but was removed from market due to low demand. Vaccine targeted OspA-F protein (attachment) on the bacteria, which allows the bacteria to attach to the tick’s gut!!!! Vaccine caused Antibodies to be made against this bacteia, and upon tick binding the antibodies would be ingested by the tick and into the tick’s gut. Antibodies end life of the bacteria.
Clinical manifestation:
1. Tick and then water droplet mark on skin (radiation of tick mark). Aka localized infection. hot to touch. Can happen anywhere.
2. Disseminated infection. Days/weeks after tick bite, Borrelia burgdorferi causes flu like symptoms. In weeks/months the musculoskeletal joint pain occurs. Well see facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy). everything droops. Heart disease.
3. Persistent infection (months/years after Borrelia burgdorferi infection). Chronic nervous system and joint involvement. Screws your knees fam.
Presentation: Tuck pants into socks. Also, check for ticks periodically.
Lab diagnosis: 1. Serological then 2. do western blot, looking for IgM in 2 of 3 westerns, that show positive result. Later infections will require 5 of 10 IgG against it.

Question 3

Borrelia REcurrentis

Answer 3

RELAPSING FEVER
Epidemiology: epidemic (human to human spread during wars/famine) relapsing fever spread by body louse crushing = does not happen anymore.
Endemic relapsing fever = transmitted b infected ticks (not same as Lyme disease ones). Occurs in west coast. Chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, mice = vectors.
Pathogenesis: Incubation period (headache/malaise, chills) for 3-6 days. Antigens change out and in 7-10n days symptoms recurr.

Question 4

Leptospira interrogans and leptospirosis

Answer 4

DOGS!!!!
epidemiology: spreads across domesticated dogs and wild animals and cats. Rats too. Starts off in raccoons. Raccoons and domestic dogs share same rain puddle water. Then dog gets to you = infection. Infection = indirect. Enters through musocal membranes, or abraded skin. Reaches blood stream. Can enter through water too. LIVES IN FRESH WATER FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. Texas/Hawaii.
Clinical presentation: hepatic and renal dysfunction

Question 5

Treponema pallidum

Answer 5

SYPHILIS (multisystemic disease)
epidemiology: Primary and secondary lesions (primary and secondary syphillus). Transmitted via sex/contact/blood transfusion/kissing. contact DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SEXUAL. Lesion can present anywhere (genitals, fingers, breasts, lips, oral cavity, any organ, CNS). Not cultured in artificial media. Note men having sex with en accounts for 88% of the cases. Heterorsexual sex is on the rise too.
Clinical presentation: Primary and secondary lesions (rich in spirochetes).
Pathogenesis:
1. Primary lesion/chancre occurring at inoculation site. Can spontaneously heal
2. (If primary did not heal) disseminated stage. Secondary lesions anywhere on body
3. Latent syphillis: no clinical manifestations if not treated, but blood is still infectious!!!!!!
4. Late (tertiary) syphillis: slow progressing inflammatiry disease affecting any organ. Neurosyphillis can range from meningitis to mental deterioration. Cardiovascular syphillus leads to aorta necrosis O_o Gummatous syphillus (rare) = painless lesions to skin and painful gnawing at bone. Congenital syphillus: shown as developmental abnormalities as a result fo mother having syphillus. baby has notched teeth, saddle nose, large liver/spleen, secondary lesions to face and saber shins.
Lab testing: Dark field miscroscopy looking at primary and secondary lesions. Serological tests work too. Nontreponemal tests can be done too. they rely on the fortuitous observation
that Ab’s to a lipoidal antigen present in a wide array
of host tissues are specifically generated upon syphilis
infection; these antibodies are referred to as reagin. Uses serological tests for this.