systemic bacteriology Flashcards
describe cocci
- Many cocci are Gram-positive bacteria
- Do not produce spores
- Not motile
- Produce exotoxin
what does catalase do ?
breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. 2 H2O2 = 2 H2O + O2 (gas bubbles). in bacteria catalase protects from intra-phagocyte killing
if the addition of 1-3 Peroxide to bacteria produces bubbles it indicates that?
it is catalase positive bacteria ( staphylococcus )
describe staphylococci
are Gram-positive cocci (0.8-
1.5 µm diameter) arranged in grape-like clusters, primarily aerobic, facultative
anaerobic, do not form spores, and are nonmotile
Some staphylococci produce capsules, many are able to produce biofilms
Unlike streptococci, staphylococci produce catalase
Optimal temperature 30-37 °C and pH 7-7.5
Colonies grow well in 18-24 hours, are round, smooth, butyrous
On blood agar, S. aureus forms white colonies that tend to turn a buff-golden color
with time and may produce β-hemolysis
staphylococcus are usually part of which microbiota?
skin, mucosal surfaces, upper respiratory airways and the intestinal tract
what separates S. aureus from other less virulent staphylococci species?
the presense of coagulase ( converts fibrinogen to fibrin )
_________ % of healthy individuals are carriers of S.aureus
15-50%
Protein A is covalently linked to PG
binds to Ig Fc to do what?
block phagocytosis
S. Aureus enzymes?
Coagulases (bound or free)
Hyaluronidase “spreading factor” of S. aureus
Nucleases cleave DNA and RNA
Serin-Proteases
Staphylokinase (fibrinolysin, allows the spread of infection)
Lipases
Esterases
β-lactamases
S. Aureus exotoxins?
Cytolytic (cytotoxins; cytolysins):
Alpha toxin hemolysin (pore-forming)
Beta toxin Sphingomyelinase
Gamma toxin Hemolytic activity
Delta toxin Cytopathic for: RBCs, Macrophages, Lymphocytes,
Neutrophils, Platelets
Enterotoxic activity
PV (Panton-Valentine) Leukocidin active against neutrophils and platelets
Staphylococcal Superantigen Toxins:
Enterotoxins stable to boiling and digestive enzymes
Exfoliative toxin epidermolytic toxin, acts on desmosomes
Toxic Shock Syndrome toxin (TSST)
Pyrogenic exotoxins
what is TSST?
toxic shock syndrome toxin
what is an abscess?
is a collection of pus that has built up in a tissue of the body
Staphylococcal disease can be differentiated in:
1) Due to the direct effect of the
microorganism: local- skin, deep abscesses, systemic infection
2) toxin-mediated: food poisoning, toxic shock syndrome, scalded skin syndrome
clinical manifestations of the skin due to the S. aureus :
- folliculitis
- boils (furuncles) develop in hair follicles
- styes (infection at the base of the eyelash)
- carbuncles, multiple boils become carbuncle
- impetigo (bullous & pustular)
- wound infections
- scalded skin syndrome (neonates and
children under 4 years)
examples of diseases that are mediated by exfoliative toxins?
Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) and bullous impetigo
- Bullous impetigo: localized cutaneous infection characterized by vesicle on an
erythematous base
- SSSS: disseminated desquamation of epithelium in infants; blisters with no
bacteria or leukocytes
deep infections due to S. aureus?
- Direct / by blood
- Can be single/multiple
- Breast, kidney, brain abscesses
- Osteomyelitis
- Septic arthritis
- Staphylococcal pneumonia: secondary to some other insult to
the lung, such as influenza, aspiration, or pulmonary edema.
Necrotizing pneumonia has been associated with strains
producing the PV leukocidin - Endocarditis
what is bacteremia ?
presence of bacteria in the bloodstream
______________is the second most common
cause of bacteremia
S. aureus, the first is E. coli
toxin-mediated diseases?
Staphylococcal food poisoning, Toxic shock syndrome ( in women using intravaginal tampons )
what are the examples of coagulase-negative Staphylococci?
S. epidermidis
S. saprophyticus
The colony is adhered to a surface and coated with _____________________
polysaccharide layer (or slime layer)
S. saprophyticus is a common cause of ____________________
urinary tract infections in young,
sexually active females
CONS( coagulase-negative staphylococci) can produce a ______________ that
bonds them to catheters and protects them from
antibiotics and immune cells -> infections of
catheters and shunts
polysaccharide slime
___________ Agar can be used as a
selective and differential medium for
the isolation and identification of
staphylococci
Mannitol Salt
the presence of
______________ at high concentration
(7.5%) results in the partial or
complete inhibition of bacterial
organisms other than staphylococci
sodium chloride
mannitol fermentation differentiates
____________, which forms yellow colonies
surrounded by yellow medium, from
coagulase-negative staphylococci that
form red colonies and cause no color
change of the surrounding medium
S. aureus
examples of Beta-lactam group of antibiotics?
penicillin, cloxacillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin
For methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)
the main alternatives are _____________ and
___________ for deep-seated infections (endocarditis,
osteomyelitis, bacteremia, pneumonia) with
macrolides and tetracyclines restricted to more
superficial skin and soft tissue infections
vancomycin, daptomycin
describe streptococci?
gram-positive bacteria, arranged in chains of over 30 cells, do not form spores, non-motile, facultative anaerobes, some from capsules, human are the main reservoir
what are Group A Streptococci?
GAS, or Streptococci Pyogenes, typically appear in small colonies with a large zone of hemolysis