Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Respiratory diseases
- Upper respiratory tract
- Infections of the URT are most common
- Pathogens that enter the repiratory tract
can infect any other parts of the body
- Gateway for infection
- Structures of the URT
- Nose - external part of the respiratory system
- Nasal cavity - internal part of the nose, lined with ciliated mucous
membranes and hairs (acts as a filter/trap for particles)
- Pharynx - lined with ciliated mucous membranes that
pushes contaminents into the digestive tract
- Tonsils - aggregations of lymphoid tissue
- Mucous - contains antimicrobial agents
- Functions
- Exchange of gases between the atmosophere and blood
- URT - collects and filters air before delivering
it to the lower respiratory tract (LRT)
- LRT - Gas exchange
- Infections of the URT (sinuses and ears)
- Diptheria
- Caused by: Cornybacterium diptheriae
- Pathogen and virulence factors: virulent C. diptheriae produces
diptheria toxin which inhibits polypeptide synthesis - causing cell death
- Diptheria toxin inhibits protein
synthesis (at the ribosome) and can
cause heart, renal or nerve damage
- Signs and symptoms: sore throat, oozing fluid that hardens
into a pseudomembrane that can obstruct the airways
- Pathogenesis + epidemiology: Spread via droplet
infection or skin contact, causes symptomatic infection
in both immuno- / non-immunocomprimised people
- Still common in developing countries
- 40-50% of untreated patients die
- Diagnosis: based on clinical picture and presence of pseudomembrane
- Rarely by microscopy: Gram positive
rods (with clubbed ends) seen in two
formations: V-sahpes (two bacteria) or
palisade arrangement (multiple)
- Pseudomembrane is
diagnostic (= fibrin, dead
cells and bacterial cells)
- Treatment and prevention: antitoxin and antibiotics,
immunization (vaccine = DTaP) is an effective
prevention
- Abx = Penicillin G, erythromycin or metronidazole
- Cutaneous form (especially in people >30yrs) -
infected skin wound results in a slow healing ulcer
- Otitis media (infection of the middle ear) and sinusitis
- Causes: various bacteria including; Strep pneumoniae
(35%), Staph aureus (1-2%), Haemophilus influenzae
(20-30%), Moraxella catarrhalis (10-15%)
- Can occur as a
complication of
nose/throat infection
- Signs and symptoms: (sinusitis) pain of the affected
sinus with malaise; (otitis media) ear pain +/- fever
- Lower respiratory tract
- The LRT is usually sterile due to the action of the ciliary escalator
- Microorganisms hoping to infect the respiratory
tract are trapped in the sticky mucous membrane of
the tract and moved towards the oesophagus
- When bacterial infection of the LRT
occurs, life-threatening illness can result
- Bacterial pneumonia
- Inflammation of the lungs accompanied
by fluid filled alveoli and bronchioles
- Can bedescribed by either the location of the infection or the
causitive organism (e.g. lobar pneumonia, involving the entire lobe)
- Most serious and frequent in adults
- Primary atypical (mycoplasma) pneumonia
- Cause: Mycoplasma pneumoniae
- Virulence factors: adhesion protein
- Signs and symptoms: fever, maaise, sore throat, excessive sweating
- Epidemiology: droplet infection (nasal secretions)
- Diagnosis: microscopy (mycoplasma bacteria - with
capsule), PCR, cold agglutination test, clinical picture
- Advaced techniques: PCR and serological testing (capsule)
- Treatment: Abx = tetracyclin and erythromycin
- Prevention: difficult as individuals can be infective without symptoms
- Common causes of classical
pneumonia: G+; Strep pneumoniae
and Staph aerues; less common =
G-; Haemophilus influenzae,
Klebsiella pneumoniae etc.
- Strep pneumonia = G+
diplococci (with capsule)
- Klebsiella pneumonia
- Cause: K. pneumoniae
- Virulence factors: a capsule
- Signs and symptoms: typical pneumoniae symptoms
with thick bloody sputum and reccurent chills
- Epidemiology: Immunocomprimised indicviduals at greatest risk
- Diagnosis: microspcopy (G-, bacilli), culture
(facultative anaerobe, lactose fermenting)
- Treatment: Abx = aminoglycosides (kanamycin,
amikacin, streptomysin) and cephalosporins
- Prevention: good aseptic technique by healthcare workers
- Other bacterial pneumonias
- Causes: Strep pneumonia, Haemophilus
influenza, Staph aureus, Yersinia pestis
(plague) and Chlamydial spp.
- Portal of entry: inhalation (Y.
pestis can infect via blood as well)
- Signs and symptoms: typical pneumonia symptoms,
with frothy, bloody sputum in the case of Y. pestis
- Incubation period: variable depending on the causitive organism
(although Y. pestis can cause symptoms within hours)
- Epidemiology: typically young
children more susceptibile
- Treatment: amoxicillin (Strep pneumoniae),
flucloxacillin (S. aureus), doxycycline (H. influenzae
and Chlamydial spp) and Streptomycin/gentamycin (Y.)
- Prevention: good hygiene; vaccine available for H. influenzae
- H. influenzae pneumonia
- Gram negative coccobacillus
- Predisposing factors: alcoholism,
poor nutrition, cancer or diabetes
- Signs and symptoms: similar to pneumococcal
pneumonia (Strep pneumonia)
- Diagnosis: isolation; special media for culture requirements
(Chocolate agar with added factors; X ( haem) and V (NAD))
- Treatment: cephalosporins
- Legionellosis
- Cause: Legionella pneumophila
- G- rod
- Found in water
- Transmitted by aerosols (not human to human)
- Signs and symptoms: potentially fatal; mutli system involvement (including; lungs, kidneys, liver, CNS and GIT)
- Diagnosis: culture on selective media (CYE media with added
iron and cysteine), poor Gram stainer (stains with silver)
- Advaced: Sera agglutination
test, fluorescent Ab's, ELISA
or DNA probe (fluorescent
probe for L. pneumoniae
genes)
- Epidemiology: The elderly, smokers and immunocomprimised individuals are highest risk
- Treatment: Quinolones or macrolides
- Prevention: reduction o bacterial presence in water sources
- Pathogenesis: L. pneomoniae kills human cells causing tissue damage and inflammation
- Require macrophage uptake
-> reside within endosome
and divide (inhibit lysosome
fusal by injecting effector
proteins into macrophage)
- Effector proteins injected via a Type IV
secretion system called Dot/ICM)
- This causes the endocytotic vesicle to recruit ER membrane
and form a protective vacuole in which it divides
- Stimulates a massvie immune response in tissues - tissue death
- Other LRT infections
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Cause: Bordetella pertussis
- Virulence factors: various toxins
- Pertussis toxin - inhibits Gi proteins
(remain GDP-bound and therefore
inacitve) meaning adenylate cyclase
cannot be turned off - excessive cAMP
- Can cause hypoglycaemia via
constant release of insulin
- Adenylate cycalse toxin
- Dermonecrotic toxin
- Tracheal cytotoxin
- Causes ciliated
cell damage
- Signs and symptoms: Initially cold-like, followed by characteristic cough
- Epidemiology: Highly contagious; droplet infection
- Pathogenesis: 4 phases - incubation (7-10 days),
catarrhal (mild respiratory symptoms), paroxysmal
(chronic, uncontrollable coughing with whoops)...
- ... and convalescent (reduction and eventual ceasation of coughs)
- Diagnosis: symptoms alone are diagnostic
- Treatment: primarily supportive (self limiting)
- Prevention: with DTaP vaccine
- Inhalation anthrax
- Cause: Bacillus anthracic
- G+, rod-shaped and endospore forming
- Virulence factors: capsule and anthrax toxin
- Signs and symptoms: Resemble cold/flu, progress to
severe coughing, shortness of breath, shock then death
- Epidemiology: not person-person transmissible,
but acquired through contact and inhalation
- Diagnosis: based on identification of bacteria in sputum
- Treatment: early, agressive treatment with Abx
(doxycycline, erythromycin, vancomycin and penicillin)
- Prevention: Anthrax vaccine available to military personnel,
researchers and health care workers dealing with anthrax patients
- Tuberculosis
- Cause: Mycoplasma tuberculosis
- Epidemiology:
immunocomprimised people
at greatest risk (leading
killer of HIV patients)
- Its global occurence and monitoring
of MDR and XDR strains can be
achieved by molecular identification
- PCR of variable number tandem
repeats (VNTR), RFLP etc.
- Pathogenesis: M. tuberculosis remain viable for long
periods of time in aerosol drops, there are three types
- Primary - initial case of TB
- Secondary - reestablished TB
- Disseminated - systemic infeciton
- 1) Bacteria reaches the alveoli and is ingested by a macrophage,
some survive and cause infection but no symptoms
- 2) Bacteria replicate in macrophages cause a
chemotactic repsonse which recruits further
macrophages - fomring a protective layer (tubercle)
- Most macrphages can't kill the
bacteria so release enzymes and
cytokines that cause a chronic
inflammtion (lung damage)
- 3) After a few weeks symptoms appear as many
macrophages die, releasing more bacteria and
creating a caseous centre (necrosis) to the tubercle
- 4) In the mature tubercle the caseous centre enlarges
(liquefaction) and forms an airfilled centre in whic
bacteria can divide outside of macrophages
- 5) Liquefaction continues, the tubercle
ruptures - bacteria can access;
bronchioles for local spread and the
blood/lymphatics for systemic spread
- Treatment; prolonged Abx treatment - "RIPE"
(rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol)
- Problem now: MDR and XDR TB
- Prevention: BCG vaccine (live, attenuated
M. bovis) - not widely used in the USA
- Screening: tuberculin skin test - six needle test thing
(can indicate a current or previous TB infection
- Diagnosis from specimen (after referal to doctor with persistent cough, >7weeks)
- Culture
- Solid media
(Jensen-lowenstein)
- takes >8 weeks
- If growth positive
- Subculture (for biochemical
typing and Abx sensitivity)
- Microscopy
- Molecular biological identification/typing
- PCR (for drug
resistence genes,
and 16S ribosome)
- Relatively high sensitivity (if
smear and culture positive)
- RFLP (restriction fragment length
polymorphism) - using restriciton
enzymes to cleave homologous DNA
- Differences will be apparent by loss of
cleavage sites (and therfore loss different
specieis subtype DNA fragment lengths)
- Viewed by agarose gel
electrophoresis, transferring to
membrane and hybridising with DNA
probe (IS6110) - that binds to the
conserved IS6100 sequence
- DNA probes (Gen Probe)
that hybridise with drug
resistence/subspecies
specific sequences
- Liquid media (faster)
- Smear sputum and stain with Zhiel
Neelsen (acid fast) technique
- Microscopy
- PCR (fast) - using commercial kits
(COBAS or AMPLICORE MTB)
- About 1/3 of the world's
population infected, with around
10,000,000 new cases each
year and 3,000,000 deaths
yearly
- TB comprise 25% of all avoidable
deaths in developing countries
- Highest incidences in India and China
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