Miscellaneous Bacterial Agents of Disease

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to bacterial agents of disease, as detailed in the lecture notes.

Treponema

A genus of Gram-negative spirochetes, including the bacterium that causes syphilis.

Treponema pallidum

The causative agent of syphilis, extremely fastidious and transmitted sexually.

Primary syphilis

The first stage of untreated syphilis marked by the appearance of a hard chancre.

Secondary syphilis

The second stage of untreated syphilis characterized by a red or brown rash on the skin.

Tertiary syphilis

The final stage of untreated syphilis causing pathologic complications in tissues and organs.

Leptospira interrogans

The bacterium that causes leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease transmitted through contaminated urine.

Borrelia burgdorferi

The causative agent of Lyme disease, transmitted by ixodid ticks.

Lyme disease

An emerging infectious disease characterized by stages including a bull's eye rash and potential to progress to serious health issues.

Vibrio cholera

A comma-shaped bacterium that infects the small intestine and causes cholera, characterized by severe diarrhea.

Campylobacter jejuni

A curved bacterium that is a common cause of gastroenteritis and is transmitted through contaminated food and water.

Helicobacter pylori

A gastric pathogen responsible for most stomach ulcers and a cofactor in stomach cancer.

Rickettsiaceae

A family of obligate intracellular parasites that cause rickettsioses, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Chlamydiaceae

A family of obligate intracellular bacteria that alternate between reticulate and elementary body forms.

Chlamydia trachomatis

A bacterium causing infections such as trachoma and is the second most prevalent STD.

Ocular trachoma

A severe infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis that deforms the eyelid and can cause blindness.

Elementary body

The infectious form of Chlamydia released from the host, while the reticulate body is the non-infectious, actively dividing form.