Week 8 - Microbes and Disease Flashcards
What are the stages of the infectious process/cycle
- Infectious agent e.g. virus, bacteria, parasite, fungi
- reservoir e.g. water, food, soil, humans, animals
- Portal of exit e.g. body fluids, blood, coughing/sneezing
- Mode of transmission e.g. droplet, faecal-oral, vector-borne
- Portal of entry e.g. mouth, nose, skin cuts, eyes
- Susceptible Host e.g. human being
What is infectious agent in the stages of the infectious process
Microorganism which is able to cause disease
What is reservoir of infection in the stages of the infectious process
Place where organism can live and reproduce, and where it can spread to cause disease
What are examples of reservoirs of infection
- body tissues
- waste of humans, animals, insects
- contaminated food, water or soil
- other animals (zoonoses)
What is Portal of entry/exist in the stages of the infectious process
Ways of achieving transmission (usually portal of entry and exist are the same)
What are examples of portals of entry
Skin
- breaches
- Active invasion of mucous membranes
Respiratory Tract
- inhaled as aerosols (sneeze), spores, on dust
- Bacteria (streptocuccus, TB) viruses (rhinoviruses, influenza), fungi (Aspergillus, Crytocuccus)
Urogential tract
- gonorrhea, syphilis, HPV (genital warts), herpes (mostly HSV-2), Hep B and C, AIDS
Example of portals of exists
Skin
Crusts, scabs of wounds, exudates from lesions, boils, pustular rashes
- this spreads by direct contact with exudate or shed into the environment where they can be spread by air currents or contaminate a fomite
Respiratory tract
Mucosal secretions and sputum
- this is spread by sneezing or coughing
Blood
- This is spread by sharing needles, breaks in the skin or mucous membrane, needlesticks injuries, dental and medical procedures when there is bleeding
What are modes of transmission in the stages of the infectious process
the means by which the infectious agent is transferred from the reservoir to a susceptible host. There are several modes of transmission:
- direct transmission
- indirect transmission
- airborne
What are the steps microorganism need to cause disease
- Gain entry to host
- Attach and multiply
- Evade host defenses
- Cause damage to tissue
Explain gain entry to a host as a step for microorganism to cause disease
Reservoir of infection, mode of transmission, portal of entry
The microorganism needs access to a host to cause damage
Explain attach and multiply as a step for microorganism to cause disease
Microorganisms must be able to adhere to host cells or tissues to initiate infection
Bacteria use - adhesins on fimbriae
Viruses use - capsid or envelope proteins
Fungi and protozoa use - surface proteins
Explain evade host defenses as a step for microorganisms to cause disease
evasion can prevent elimination before reproduction and or transmission to another host
can occur through:
- disguising themselves from recognition by the immune system,
- suppressing immune cell function,
- directly attacking immune cells with toxins or other virulence factors.
What is pathogenicity
ability of a microorganism to produce disease in a host organism
What is pathogenesis
mechanism by which disease is produced (how the disease is produced)
e.g. destruction of tissues, production of virulence factors, toxins, proteases, immunopathology
What is the dynamic relationship between host and pathogen dependent upon
- resistance
- virulence
What is resistance
Ability of body to defend against the specific microorganism
What is virulence
- things which assist bacteria in causing disease e.g. toxins, surface receptors that bind to host cells, capsules
What properties of bacteria allows it to establish and cause disease
adhesins, exotoxins, neurotoxins, endotoxin
What properties of viruses allows it to establish and cause disease
- any molecule that allows invasion of host cell
- completion of life cycle
What properties of fungal allows it to establish and cause disease
molecules that allow attachment or evasion of host defenses
What does communicable mean
capacity for a microorganism to move from one host to another
What does contagious mean
the degree to which a disease is communicable
What does R0
the number of people infected by one contagious person
What does non-communicable mean
not infectious and not transmissible to another host e.g. diabetes, heart disease