Unit 3- Coxiella burnetii Flashcards
Q fever
Query fever in those working with animals, bioterrorism agent
Reasons for Bioterrorism Classification
Disability, fever, and abortion in ruminant, 20km airborne transmission, highly infectious, small cell variant
Small Cell Variant
Pseudo-spore like lifeform with environmental persistence
Coxiella burnetii
Gram negative, stain by Gimenez method two lifestages, intracellular
Reasons for being intracellular
Cannot synthesize some amino acids
Small Cell Variant
Environmental resistance, infectious form, electron dense like a spore
Large Cell Variant
Vegetative or replicative form, activated when in host cell, metabolically active
C burnetii Host Range
All vertebrates and ticks, ruminants primary reservoirs
C burnetii Transmission
Inhalation, ingestion, contact, and ticks, can also infect free amoeba
C burnetii LPS
Key factor in immune hijacking to live in microbicidal cells
Coxiella Virulence Factors
LPS, pilus, T4SS, vacuole acidification by combining with lyzozyme, different cell variants
Virulent Phase I
LPS has intact O antigen with smooth surface
Virulent Phase II
LPS has lost O antigen and has rough surface
Coxiella Tropism
Monocytes, macrophages, and endothelial cells of avian and mammal, midgut and salivary glands of ticks
Acute Disease
Q fever from phagocyte infection, pneumonia, abortion, jaundice, mastitis, lymphadenitis, vasculitis
