Theme 1- core microbiology Flashcards
What are types of gram posive cocci?
Staphylococcus aureus
Streptococcus pyogenes
Streptococcus agalactie
What are types of gram negative cocci?
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae
What are types of gram positive bacilli (aerobes and anaerobes)?
- Bacillus anthracis
- Clostridium difficile
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Corynebacterium diptheriae
What are types of gram negative bacilli?
- Salmonella typhi
- Shigella spp
- Escherichia coli
- Proteus spp
- Yersinia pestis
What are types of gram negative coccobacilli?
- Haemophilus
- Bordetella
- Brucella
- Pasteurella
What are types of spiral bacteria?
Helicobacter
Campylobacter
Borrielia
Leptospira
Treponema pallidum
Do gram positive or negative cells have thick walls? What colour does each stain with?
Gram positive has a thicker cell wall than negative. Gram positive stain stains organism blue/ black is retained. Gram negative- fatty outer cell membrane which doesn’t retain the blue/black, then stained with counter stain that appears red.
Why do certain bacteria cause paticular infections?
- Host factors- Immune system and devices can cause colonisation
- Opportunity- exposure and normal flora
- Bacterial infections- environmental factors, virulence, resistance
Exposure to environmental or animal based pathogens.
Source of the infection is on you and what your normal flora is. Skin surrounding anus is colonisation of E. coli which is close urinary tract which can cause infection.
Where is E. coli found? Where is it able to adhere to?
- Part of normal bowel flora in most humans
- Colonisation of urethral meatus and surrounding area
- Short urethra in females
- Able to adhere to uroepithelial cells/urinary catheter materials
What does E. coli do?
- Triggers host inflammatory response
- Able to develop resistance to antibiotics
- Most common cause of UTIs
Where is S. aureus found?
Nasal carriage in up to 50% of people
Able to adhere to damaged skin
What does S. aureus do?
Produces exoenzymes and toxins that can damage tissues and provoke host response (e.g. pus formation)
What does Staphylococcus aureus cause?
- Causes skin/soft tissue infections – commonest cause, including of surgical site infections
- Bacteraemia/septicaemia
- Osteomyelitis/septic arthritis
- Endocarditis
- Pneumonia
- UTI
- Meningitis
Where is staphylococcus epidermis found?
- Opportunistic pathogen
- Skin commensal
- Most people will carry it on their skin
- One of 20+ species of ‘coagulase negative staphylococci’
What does staphylococcus epidermis adhere to?
Adheres to plastics/metals using glycocalyx (‘slime’), forming biofilms
What does staphylococcus epidermis cause?
Causes infection in association with ‘foreign bodies’ e.g. intravascular catheters, prosthetic joints, prosthetic cardiac valves, etc
What is the commonest cause of a sore throat?
Streptococcus pyogenes- Can also be referred to as ‘Group A Strep’
What does streptococcus pyogenes cause?
- Scarlet Fever
- Necrotising fasciitis (‘flesh eating bug’)
- Other SSTIs
- Invasive infections, such as pneumonia
- Puerperal sepsis- infection of genital tract in mothers that have given birth
- Also associated with secondary immunological presentations, such as glomerulonephritis
What is the commonest cause of bacterial pneumonia and menigitis (except in neonates)?
Streptococcus pnuemoniae
Can also cause other common childhood infections, such as otitis media
What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material), causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia.1
What does streptococcus agalactiae cause?
- Can also be referred to as ‘Group B strep’
- Commonest cause of bacterial meningitis and sepsis in neonates (babies aged under three months)
What is streptococcus milleri complex?
- Three closely related species of pus-forming streptococci
- Associated with abscesses: dental, lung, liver, brain and others
What is Viridans streptococci? Where are they found?
- Collective name for a number of species of α-haemolytic streptococci that inhabit the upper respiratory tract e.g. S. oralis, S. mitis
- Classic cause of sub-acute bacterial endocarditis
If you have heart valve from disease like aortic stenosis/ mitral regurgitation can lead to stasis of blood flow around valves allowing organisms to survive and adhere to the tissues leading to bacterial vegetation leading to bacterial endocarditis.
What is streptococcus gallolyticus? Where is it found?
- Formerly known as Streptococcus bovis
- A type of α- haemolytic streptococcus that forms part of bowel flora
- Bacteraemia with this organism can be associated with colonic malignancies
What is listeria monocytogenes?
Gram positive bacillus
What is listeria monocytogenes from?
- Zoonosis (infectious disease in animals), able to grow at low temperatures
- Associated with consuming cheese made from unpasteurised milk and other foodstuffs
What does listeria monocytogenes cause?
Rare but significant cause of sepsis and meningitis in pregnancy, neonates and immunosuppressed patients
What are corynebacterium species?
Gram positive bacilli
Where are corynebacterium species found?
A number of species are commensals of skin and the upper respiratory tract
Occasional opportunistic infections associated with devices and trauma
What is an exmaple of corynebacterium species?
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
What are the classic symptoms of diptheria?
Classic cause of diphtheria- mainly affects nose and throat
Rarely seen now in the UK because of immunisation
What is propionbacterium acnes?
Gram positive bacillus
Now referred to as Cutibacterium acnes
What does propionibacterium causes?
- Associated with acne
- Can also cause device-associated and post-procedural infections
What are enterobacteriaceae (‘coliforms’)?
A collective term for a number of species of gram negative bacilli found in bowel flora
What are examples of enterobacteriaceae?
- Common species include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae
- Look like short cocktail sausages
What is the most common cause of UTI’s?
E. coli
What is the most common cause of bacteraemia?
E. coli
What is the most common cause of nosocomial infections (originating from hospitals) e.g. line infections, pneumonia, wound infections?
E. coli
How is severe diarrhoea and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) caused from E. coli?
Toxigenic strains (e.g. O157) associated with severe diarrhoea and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)- produce toxins- zoonosis from contact with animals- farms, dairy products not being pasteurised
What is pseudomonas aeruginosa?
Multi-resistant gram negative bacillus
What does pseudomonas aeurginoa cause?
- Can cause respiratory infections, UTIs, soft-tissue and other infections in vulnerable patients
- Often produces characteristic green pigment
What is Neisseria meningitidis?
Gram negative diplococcus
Glass test where you press against rash and rash lesions don’t disappear
What does neisseria meningitidis cause?
Causes meningococcal sepsis and/or meningitis
What does Neisseria meningitidis present as?
Classic presentation is of a purpuric non-blanching rash (sepsis)
What is Neisseria gonorrhoeae?
Gram negative diplococcus
What does Neisseria gonorrhoeae cause?
Cause of gonorrhoea
What is ophthalmia neonatorum?
Ophthalmia neonatorum- born with gonorrhoea from mother
Can Neisseria gonorrhoeae cause invasive infections secondary to primary sexually transmitted infections?
Can rarely cause invasive infections (e.g. septic arthritis) secondary to primary sexually transmitted infection
What is haemophilius influenzae?
Gram negative bacillus
What does Haemophilus influenzae form?
Forms part of normal respiratory tract flora
What can haemophilus influenzae cause?
Can cause respiratory tract infections (e.g. pneumonia, infective exacerbations of COPD)
What are the types of haemophlius influenzae?
Capsulated types (e.g. type b) associated with meningitis and epiglottitis (leads to airway obstruction)
Only type b infections prevented by the HIb vaccine
What are anaerobes?
Bacteria that grow in the absence of oxygen
What does C. difficile, C.perfringens and C. tetani cause?
- Clostridium species. Many are spore-forming organisms- allows to survive more, occurs a lot in hospital and ingested and exposed to antibiotics germinating and forming toxins leading to diarrhoea
- C. difficile – antibiotic-associated diarrhoea/colitis
- C. perfringens – classical cause of gas gangrene
- C. tetani – cause of tetanus
What does C. botulinum cause?
C. botulinum – cause of botulism
What are these bacteria?
Bacteroides species, Fusobacterium species, Prevotella species and many others
Often part of polybacterial infections e.g. dental infections, lung abscesses, colonic abscesses, post-trauma skin/soft tissue infections
Anaerobes
What are mycobacterium species?
Often referred to as ‘Acid Fast Bacilli’ (AFBs)- RHS acid fast bacilli stain
Do NOT stain using conventional gram staining
What does mycobacterium tuberculosis cause?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis – cause of TB
What are other mycobacterium species referred to as? What do they cause?
Other Mycobacterium species are sometimes referred to as ‘Atypical Mycobacteria’ and cause respiratory infections in those with chronic lung disease or opportunistic infections in immuno-compromised patients e.g. AIDS, transplant patients, etc