Spirochetes Flashcards
spirals with hooked ends
leptospira
fletcher’s semi solid media
leptospira
relapsing fever from ticks or lice
borrelia recurrentis
looser coils
borrelia recurrentis
what causes lyme disease
borrelia burgdorferi
what is the vector for lyme disease?
ixodes ticks
what medium is used to culture for b. burgdoferi?
kelly medium
treponema spp causes Bejel and where its found
endemicum
E mediterranean, balkans, N africa
treponema spp causes Yaws and where its found
pertenue caribbean latin america C africa Far east
treponema spp causes pinta and where its found
carateum
latin america
what are the symptoms of primary syphilis?
painless chancre
regional lymphadenopathy
what is the time frame for primary syphilis?
heals 3 - 6 weeks after infection
how is primary syphilis diagnosed?
darkfield microscopy (serology may be negative)
what are the symptoms of secondary syphilis?
rash on trunk and palms of hands and soles of feet
can infect organ systems
self limiting
what is the time frame of secondary syphilis?
2 - 10 weeks after chancre appearance
how is secondary syphilis diagnosed?
darkfield microscopy
serologic tests reactive
nontreponemal tests reactive
what are the symptoms of latent syphilis? is it contagious?
symptomless
not contagious but can transmit to fetus
what is the timeframe of latent syphilis?
secondary will progress to latent if left untreated
how is latent syphilis diagnosed?
1/3 of untreated:
a. lose STS reactivity
b. remain STS reactive for life
c. develop tertiary disease
what are the symptoms of tertiary syphilis?
neurosyphilis (8%)
gummatous
tabes dorsalis- paresis, blindness, dementia
cardiovascular (10%)
what is the timeframe for tertiary syphilis?
3 - 15 years after infection
how is tertiary syphilis diagnosed?
treponemal and serological tests
what is the best test for CSF syphilis samples?
VDRL
what are symptoms of congenital syphilis?
40% die
bone, CNS defects
saddle nose
facial lesions
what are the nontreponemal tests?
VDRL
RPR
what is the principle of VDRL?
cardiolipin + lecithin + cholesterol
detect reagin antibodies
what is the antigen in VDRL tests?
cardiolipin
what is the principle of RPR?
cardiolipin + lecithin + cholesterol + choline chloride + EDTA + charcoal to detect reagin antibodies
what is the antigen in RPR?
cardiolipin
what does choline chloride and EDTA do in RPR?
inactivate complement and stabilize antigen
what is the principle of TP-PA?
particle agglutination
what is the principle of FTA-ABS?
fluorescent antibody absorption
Sorbent = Reiter’s strain
Antigen = Nichols strain
what is the antigen in EIA for syphilis?
TmpA
what conditions can cause a false positive nontreponemal test result?
autoimmune disease malaria pneumococcal pneumonia pregnancy IV drugs chronic infections in elderly cancers
what is the traditional algorithm for syphilis testing?
trep > Nontrep > Nontrep (TP-PA)
what is the reverse algorithm for syphilis testing?
Nontrep > Trep
Most common method to id borrelia burgdorferi
Serology using IFA or EIA
what medium is required for Borrelia?
modified Kelly’s medium
