Gram Positive (+) Bacteria

Clostridium tetani

• Found in soil and enter through a wound.

• Bacteria is tennis racket shaped

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

• Tetanus

  • painful muscle spasms leads to respiratory failure.

    • Neurotoxin: tetanospasmin

    • 40% mortality rate

Clostridium botulinum

• Found in soil, smoked fish, canned food, and honey

• Rod shaped with peritrichious flahella

• Botulism - severe paralytic disease (reverse of tetanus)

  • Neurotoxin: Botulinum

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

Clostridium perfringens

• Found in soil and can get on to food (unwashed vegetables), meat, and can become apart of normal flora.

• Rod shaped with flagella

• Produces alpha toxin

  • Causes food poisoning

  • Gaseous gangrene

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

Clostridium difficile

• Fecal-oral transmission (nosocomial, nursing homes)

• Rod shaped with peritirichous flagella

• Infectious diarrhea

  • Endotoxin

• Used to be opportunistic but now it's affecting almost everyone.

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

Bacillus anthrax

• Zoonotic (inhaled or ingested)

• Non motile, spore former

• Anthrax (pneumonia, blood infection, death)

  • Anthrax toxin

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

Bacillus cereus

• Found in soil (unwashed vegetables), rice

• Peritrichious

• Food poisoning (known as “fried rice syndrome”)

  • Enterotoxin

• Phlym Firmicutes

• Spore forming

Staphyloccus aureus

• Found in normal flora

• Form grape like clusters

• Wound infections leading to sepsis

  • Is oppoertunistic

  • Toxin - gastroenteritis, can lead to toxic shock syndrome

• Phlym Firmicutes

Streptococcus pyogenes

• Part of normal flora or found in the lungs

• Transported through respiratory droplets

• Chains and non motile

• Causes strep throat

  • Can cause toxic shock syndrome

  • Can lead to scarlet fever

• Phlym Firmicutes

Streptococcus pneumonia

• Typically lives in the lungs and is thus Spread through respiratory droplets

• Found in normal flora

• Chain shaped and non motile

• leads to pneumonia and meningitis (opportunistic)

• Phlym Firmicutes

Streptococcus mutans

• Normal flora in oral cavity

• Chain, non motile

• Dental carries

  • opportunistic

• Phlym Firmicutes

Lysteria monocytogenes

• Dairy, raw meats, and animal poop

  • Found on fruits and vegatbles

• Rod shaped and peritrichious (at room temp, NOT at body temp.)

• Can cause Listeriasis

  • Food poisoning, sepsis, central nervous system infection

• Phlym Firmicutes

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

• Zoonotic and spread through aerosol droplets

• Non motile, pleomorphic: slightly curved or straight rod

  • Intracellular

  • Mycolic acid: looks weakly G+

• Causes TB

  • Chronic lung infection

• Phylum Actinobacteria

Mycobacterium leprae

• Transmission is unknown

• Structure: same as M. tuberculosis

• Leprasy: skin lessons leading to loss of bones to loss of extremesties.

  • Get lepracy through contact with infected persons but specifics of transmission is unknown.

• Phylum Actinobacteria