Theme 4 - Introduction to medical microbiology Flashcards
what are the main bacterial infections seen in primary care?
UTI, chest infection, sore throat
what are the main bacterial infections seen in secondary care?
community acquired and hospital acquired infections
give one example of community and one example of hospital acquired infection
community - cellulitis or pneumonia, hospital - vascular line infection
how is a hospital acquired infection defined?
infection is acquired 48 hours after admission to hospital
at any given time what % of hospital patients are on antibiotics?
25%
what % of antibiotic use is in primary care?
80%
how are taxonomic names written
genus + species
what is staphylococcus aureus
a staphylococcal infection found on the skin
what is streptococcal pyogenes?
strep throat
what are the three components of the tree of life?
eukaryotes, archaea and bacteria
is bacteria eukaryotic or prokaryotic?
prokaryotic
name three eukaryotes that can cause human disease
fungi - candida, protazoa - malaria, helminths - tapeworm
list four key features of prokaryotes
no nucleus/membrane bound organelles, haploid, 70s ribosomes, peptidoglycan cell wall
list four key features of eukaryotes
membrane bound nucleus, diploid, 80s ribosome, no cell wall (unless plant or fungi)
what % of bacteria are medically important?
<0.01%
what are round bacteria called?
coccus/cocci (streptococcus)
what are long bacteria called?
bacillus/bacilli (enterobacter)
what are oval shaped bacteria called?
coccobacillus
what are long and curved bacteria called?
vibrio (cholera)
how do different coccus arrange?
staphylococcus - clusters, streptococcus - chains and diplococci - pairs
what does gram staining depend on?
amount of peptidoglycan in the cell wall
describe the gram staining process
dry sample on a glass plate, stain with crystal violet and set with iodine, decolourise with alcohol or acetone, counterstain with safranin
what type of bacteria retains the staining when washed with alcohol?
gram positive
what colour is safranin?
pink
If a bacteria stains purple, what is it?
gram positive
if a bacteria stains pink, what is it?
gram negative
what aspects of bacteria can be exploited to diagnose infection?
patterns of growth down the microscope (chains or clusters), patterns of growth on culture medium (colonies formed and enzymes excreted), requirements for growth (atmospheric and nutrients)
what are two key features of bacterial aerobes?
use oxygen in final stage of metabolism and grow efficiently in oxygen rich conditions
what are three key features of obligate anaerobes?
only grow in oxygen absent environments, metabolise glucose to lactic acid, oxygen is usually toxic
what is a facultative anaerobe?
prefers anaerobic conditions but can grow in aerobic - carbon dioxide is not toxic to them