Parks UTA
Disease
a condition where normal structure and/or function are damaged or impaired
Infection
invasion of pathogen or parasite that lead to disease
Signs
things that can be directly measured by clinician (e.g. blood cell counts, Heart rate, respiratory rates)
Symptoms
things felt by patient that cannot be clinically measured (e.g. nausea, headache, loss of appetite) (EXPRESSED BY PT)
Syndrome
groups of signs & symptoms that help indicate a particular disease
asymptomatic
only signs can be observed thru correct testing
Infectious
disease caused by direct effect of a pathogen
Communicable
capable of spreading person-to-person (contagious – easily spread) (STD’s/ HIV, Malaria)
Iatrogenic
acquired as result of medical procedure
Nosocomial
acquired from hospital setting
Zoonotic
acquired from animal (rabies, malaria, avian flu)
Non-communicable
obtained from non-living thing such as soil or contaminated object (tetanus, Sickle Cell Anemia)
Non-infectious
not caused by pathogen (Sickle Cell Anemia)
Infectious disease follow 5 stages:
Incubation, Prodromal, Illness, Decline, Convalescence
Incubation
initial entry of pathogen; replication begins; no signs or symptoms
Prodromal
Replication continues; host shows signs & symptoms
Illness
signs & symptoms are most severe in host (respiratory) (HIGHEST # OF PATHOGENS)
Decline
pathogen no. start to decrease; host’s immune system is weak and vulnerable to secondary infection (immunocompromised)
Convalescence
host starts to recover
Acute
relatively short (hours, days, week) (flu)
Chronic
longer time (months, years, lifetime) (TB, HIV, Hepatitis)
Latent
comes in episodes; pathogen replicates when disease is active (chickenpox and herpes)
Koch’s Postulates
determine whether a particular microorganism is a pathogen
The suspected pathogen must be found every case of disease and not be found in healthy individuals
The suspected pathogen can be isolated and grown in pure culture
A healthy test subject infected with the suspected pathogen must develop the same signs and symptoms of disease as seen in postulate 1
The pathogen must be re-isolated from the new host and must be identical to the pathogen from postulate 2
Koch’s wrong assumptions
Pathogens are found only in disease individuals All subjects are equally susceptible to infection All pathogens can be grown in culture
Molecular Koch’s Postulates
used to determine what genes contribute to a pathogen's ability to cause disease
Molecular Koch’s Limitations
genetic manipulation of some organisms isn’t possible with current techniques
some diseases do not have suitable animal models (HIV)
Pathogenicity
ability of pathogen to cause disease
Virulence
degree of pathogenicity Highly virulent – Bacillus anthracis induces severe signs & symptoms Low virulent – Rhinovirus induces low signs & symptoms
Median infectious dose (ID50)
no. of pathogens required to infect 50% of those inoculated
Median lethal dose (LD50)
no. of pathogens required to kill50% of those infected
Primary pathogen
can cause disease in a host regardless of host’s resident microbiota or immune system
enterohemorrhagic E. coli (mainly due to Shiga toxin)
Opportunistic pathogen
can only cause disease in situations that compromise the host’s defenses (e.g. protective barriers, immune system, or normal microbiota) (ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE)
Candida albicans with disrupted microbiota, UTI caused by E. coli
STAPH infection, E. coli
Stages of Pathogenicity
Exposure to host, Adhesion, Invasion, Infection, Transmission
Exposure/contact
pathogens must be exposed to portals of entry to begin adhesion i.e. (eye conjunctiva, nose, mouth, placenta (TORCH), anus, urethra, vagina, insect bite, broken skin)
Adhesion
capability of colonization Adhesins - molecules/structures that bind to certain host receptors Biofilm - production of community glycocalyx
Invasion
colonization is established
Effector proteins are secreted to trigger entry –membrane ruffling(e.g. Salmonella & Shigella spp.)
Surface proteins allow for binding to host cell, receptors that bind to epithelium cells and the cells allow them to enter (trojan horse approach) ~ some survive phagolysosomes within WBCs (e.g. Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
Infection
Local infection – small area of body
Focal infection – pathogen or toxin spreads to secondary location
Systemic – occurs throughout body (ex. Septicemia, chicken pox)
Primary infections can lead to ________ infection of different pathogen
secondary i.e. HIV lowers immune system and opens door for yeast and others; rhinoviruses can lead to bacterial pneumonia
Transmission
Portals of exit: eye (tears), mammary glands, placenta, vagina, skin (flakes), urethra (urine), nose, mouth (saliva & sputum), ear (wax), needle (blood), anus, insect bite, and broken skin
Virulence factors
pathogen product that assists in ability to cause infection and disease Adhesion factors, Exoenzymes, Toxins, Immune evasion
Adhesins
proteins that aid in attachment to host cell receptors; initiate biofilm formation in some species i.e. viral, fungal, bacterial, fimbriae or pili
-bacteremia
bacteria in blood
-viremia
viruses in blood
toxemia
toxins in blood
septicemia
bacteria present and multiplying in blood (active)
Patients with __________ can lead to shock (life-threatening decrease in BP)
septicemia
Exoenzymes
extracellular enzymes used to invade host tissues i.e. glycohydrolases, nucleases, phospholipases, proteases
Toxins
biological poisons that assist in ability to invade and cause tissue damage (toxigenicity)
Endotoxins
lipopolysaccharides (in G-) that triggers host inflammatory responses; can cause sever fever and shock
Exotoxins
proteins mostly produced by Gram (+); Targets receptors on specific cells; can be further divided
Detecting endotoxins
Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) Test: blood cells of the horseshoe crab mixed with patient’s serum; observed chromogenically or by coagulation
ELISA – enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: uses antibodies to detect endotoxins
Intracellular targeting - EXO
with A & B regions for activity and binding; Ex. diphtheria & botulinum toxin
Membrane-disrupting - EXO
aka phospholipases that degrade bilayer membrane; Ex. Bacillus anthracis & Rickettsia spp.
Hemolysins and Leukocidins: can target RBC, WBC, and other cells
Superantigen - EXO
trigger excessive production of cytokines by immune cells; Ex. Staphylococcus aureus and Toxic Shock Syndrome (causing high amounts of S. aureus since it is cultivated by blood
Host evasion
mechanisms to evade phagocytosis
Capsules that enlarge bacterial cell so phagocytes cannotengulf pathogens
Proteases digest host antibody molecules
Mycolic acid in acid fast bacteria (M. tuberculosis) helps evade phagolysosomes
Coagulase pos. microbes can coagulate blood cells to keep immune cells out of reach
Alteration of cell surface proteins to hide from immune cell recognition (antigenic variation)
Antigenic drift
result of point mutations causing slight changes in spike proteins (H & N)
Antigenic shift
major change in spike proteins due to gen reassortment
Mycotoxins
adhesins, exoenzymes, & toxins produced by Claviceps purpurea and Aspergillus spp. that contaminate grains & other staple crops
Many properties are also similar to bacteria (adhesins, exoenzymes, & toxins)
Protozoans
Adhesins, toxins, antigenic variation Unique features for attachment – Giardia lamblia uses adhesive disk ofmicrotubules to attach to intestines
Helminths
“Glycan gimmickry” – mimic host cells to evade immune system
Tissue penetration commonly achieved w/ proteases (e.g. worms that burrow into skin)
Schistosoma mansoni degrades host antibodies to halt immune defense