Lower Respiratory, Digestive, Urogenital: Bacterial, Viral, Fungal, Parasitic Diseases & Indicators

Bordetella pertussis

Causes whooping cough (pertussis) with key indicators including a distinctive cough and long recovery time.

Pertussis toxin

A toxin produced by Bordetella pertussis.

Tracheal toxin

A toxin produced by Bordetella pertussis.

Filamentous hemagglutinin

Attaches to ciliated respiratory epithelial cells and stops the mucociliary escalator.

DTaP vaccine

Vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis.

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Causes primary pneumonia (pneumococcal pneumonia) with key indicators including pyogenic response and hospitalization likelihood.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Causes atypical (walking) pneumonia, characterized by bacteria that have no cell wall.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae

Causes atypical (walking) pneumonia, with intracellular bacteria that are hard to see on Gram stain.

Legionella pneumophila

Causes Legionnaires' disease, with key indicators including inhalation of bacteria via contaminated water.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Causes tuberculosis (TB) with key indicators including acid-fast stain and granulomas in the lung.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

Causes respiratory syncytial disease, dangerous for infants and the elderly.

Influenza virus

Causes influenza, with key indicators including antigenic shift and drift.

SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV

Cause SARS and MERS, respectively, with severe disease following flu symptoms.

SARS-CoV-2

Causes COVID-19, characterized by flu-like symptoms and varying severity.

Histoplasma capsulatum

Causes histoplasmosis, can be confused for TB with granulomas forming in the lung.

Coccidioides imitis

Causes coccidiomycosis (Valley Fever), can be confused for TB.

Aspergillus flavus

Causes aspergillosis with aflatoxin as a carcinogen.

Pneumocystis jirovecii

Causes pneumocystis pneumonia, often in AIDS patients and immunocompromised individuals.

Paragonimus sp.

Causes paragonimiasis, can be confused for TB with eggs/cysts in lung tissues.

Viridans streptococci

Includes streptococcus mutans and sobrinus, causes cavities (caries).

Staphylococcus aureus

Causes food intoxication with enterotoxins leading to quick onset.

Clostridioides difficile

Causes antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and pseudomembranous colitis.

Bacillus cereus

Causes food intoxication with diarrheal and nausea/vomiting toxins.

Vibrio cholerae

Causes cholera, characterized by rice water stool and cholera toxin.

Shigella dysenteriae

Causes dysentery with blood in stool and shiga toxin.

Salmonella species

Causes salmonellosis, often found on eggs, meats, and milk.

Salmonella Typhi

Causes typhoid fever with symptoms including rash and high fever.

Key indicators of Typhoid fever

Contaminated water from feces, rash, high fever, confusion, septicemia, black colonies on HE plate.

Pathogenic E coli

Includes EPEC, EIEC, EHEC, and ETEC.

EHEC indicators

Non-fermenting on MacConkey sorbitol, but lactose fermentor; strain is O157:H7; acquired shiga toxin.

Campylobacter jejuni

Causes Campylobacteriosis.

Key indicators of Campylobacteriosis

Most common bacterial gastroenteritis.

Yersinia pestis

Causes food infection ('refrigerator food poisoning').

Key indicators of Yersinia pestis

Grows at 4 degrees (in fridge).

Heliobacter pylori

Causes gastric ulcers.

Key indicators of Heliobacter pylori

Can grow in stomach acid thanks to urease.

Listeria monocytogenes

Causes Listeriosis (food infection).

Key indicators of Listeriosis

Lunch meat, unpasteurized dairy products, risk for fetus - meningitis or sepsis.

Mumps virus

Causes mumps.

Key indicators of Mumps

Swollen cheek/jaw, sterility in males.

Rotavirus

Causes viral gastroenteritis.

Key indicators of Rotavirus

Common in children.

Norovirus

Causes gastroenteritis.

Key indicators of Norovirus

Most common for adults, very contagious.

Hepatitis A virus

Causes hepatitis.

Key indicators of Hepatitis A

A = acute, ingestion, can spread to liver and cause liver failure.

Hepatitis B virus

Causes hepatitis.

Key indicators of Hepatitis B

B = blood, get via exposure to blood, semen, vaginal fluids.

Hepatitis C virus

Causes hepatitis.

Key indicators of Hepatitis C

C = chronic, needle sharing.

Hepatitis D virus

Causes hepatitis.

Key indicators of Hepatitis D

D = dud, needs Hepatitis B virus to replicate, higher mortality rate if both B and D.

Giardia lamblia

Causes giardiasis.

Key indicators of Giardiasis

Protozoa, flagella, camping, ingesting contaminated water.

Cryptosporidium sp

Causes cryptosporidiosis.

Key indicators of Cryptosporidiosis

Protozoa, AIDS association, swimming pools and public water supplies.

Entamoeba histolytica

Causes amoebic dysentery.

Key indicators of Amoebic dysentery

Protozoa (amoeba), cysts in feces.

Ascaris

Causes ascariasis.

Key indicators of Ascariasis

Helminth, worms come out of many orifices, eosinophilia.

Taenia sp.

Causes tapeworm infection.

Key indicators of Tapeworm infection

Long segmented worms, from eating undercooked meat, eggs or worm segments in stool, may form cysts in muscle, brain, organs, eosinophilia.

Trichinella

Causes trichinosis.

Key indicators of Trichinosis

Helminth, undercooked pork, cysts in tissue, eosinophilia.

Schistosoma

Causes schistosomiasis.

Key indicators of Schistosomiasis

Helminth, larva penetrate skin, itchy, worms replicate in liver, cause disease of liver, eosinophilia.