Microbio

UTI

Urinary Tract Infection

Strep Throat

Infection causing inflammation in the throat

Pink Eye (conjunctivitis)

Infection causing inflammation in the eye

"Itis"

Refers to inflammation in the body

Arthritis

Not an infection, a condition causing joint inflammation

Alzheimer's

Not an infection, a neurodegenerative disease

Diabetes

Not an infection, a metabolic disorder

Microorganism

Organisms too small to be seen without a microscope

Infectious Disease

Harm caused by microorganisms to the body

Endogenous Infection

Infection caused by microorganisms already in the body

Exogenous Infection

Infection caused by newly acquired microorganisms

Pathogen

Microorganism capable of causing disease

Carrier

Person harboring a pathogen without being harmed

Nosocomial Infection

Infection acquired in a healthcare setting

Pathogenicity

Ability of a microorganism to cause disease

Communicable Disease

Disease passed from person to person

Immune System

Body's defense against infections

Antibiotics

Drugs to treat bacterial infections

Serologic Test

Blood test to detect antibodies for microorganisms

Nosocomial Infections Prevention

Measures to prevent infections in healthcare settings

Opportunistic Pathogens

Organisms with moderate pathogenicity that do not cause disease in individuals with fully functioning defenses.

Compromised Hosts

Individuals with weakened immune systems due to immunodeficiency diseases or immunosuppressive drugs.

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

Antibiotics that affect a wide range of bacteria, including normal flora, potentially leading to opportunistic infections.

Any Break in Skin

Skin breaches like cuts, chapped skin, or contact dermatitis that compromise the body's defense against microorganisms.

Debilitation

Conditions like stress, malnutrition, or underlying diseases that weaken the body's immune response, making individuals more susceptible to infections.

Spontaneous generation

Theory suggesting living organisms could arise from decaying organic matter without the need for pre-existing life.

Leeuwenhoek

Considered the "father of microbiology," he discovered microorganisms using primitive microscopes in 1679.

Germ theory of disease

The concept that some diseases are caused by microorganisms, pioneered by Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister.

Louis Pasteur

Developed swan-necked flasks to disprove spontaneous generation and introduced pasteurization to prevent bacterial spoilage.

Koch’s Postulates

A set of four criteria to establish a causal relationship between a microorganism and a disease, devised by Robert Koch.

Ultrafilterable viruses

Microorganisms smaller than bacteria that were discovered in 1892 through experiments on tobacco mosaic disease.

Antibiotics

Substances like penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929, used to combat bacterial infections but facing challenges due to resistance.

Sources of microorganisms

Humans, animals, insects, and arachnids serve as potential sources of pathogens, requiring understanding for infection control.

Vectors

Living transmitters of microorganisms such as insects, arachnids, animals, and humans that can spread diseases.

Biological Vectors

Insects or arachnids that carry microorganisms within their bodies without harming themselves, like ticks transmitting diseases such as Lyme disease.

Mechanical Vectors

Insects that transport microorganisms on the outside of their bodies after landing on contaminated surfaces.

Fomite

Inanimate objects that can harbor and transmit microorganisms, like doorknobs or tables.

Symbiotic Relationships

Interactions between organisms, including Mutualism (both benefit), Commensalism (one benefits, other unaffected), and Parasitism (one benefits, other harmed).

Normal Flora

Bacteria, fungi, etc., living in or on the body in mutualistic or commensalistic relationships, which can become parasitic if conditions change.

Epidemiology

Study of the occurrence and causes of infectious diseases, including terms like Endemic, Epidemic, Pandemic, and Sporadic.

Infection Control

Measures in hospitals to prevent nosocomial infections, involving education, monitoring, and isolation techniques.

Isolation

Preventing the transmission of organisms between patients, with different types like Respiratory, Enteric, Wound and Skin, Strict, and Reverse (Protective) isolation.

Types of Isolation (New Terms)

Droplet precautions, Airborne precautions, Contact isolation/precautions, and Reverse/protective isolation for specific infection control measures.

Opportunistic Pathogen

Microorganisms that take advantage of compromised hosts to cause infections, highlighting the importance of normal flora in defense mechanisms.

Microorganisms

Include bacteria, viruses, some fungi, some algae, and protozoa, each with distinct characteristics and living in diverse environments.

Viruses

Unique microorganisms, not living or cells, different from other microorganisms.

Kingdom Classification

Initially two kingdoms (Plants and Animals), later expanded to five kingdoms (Animals, Plants, Monera, Fungi, Protista).

Prokaryotic Cells

Lack a defined nucleus, DNA not in a membrane-bound nucleus, only bacteria are prokaryotic.

Eukaryotic Cells

Have a defined nucleus, DNA in a membrane-bound nucleus, all living cells except bacteria are eukaryotic.

Selective Toxicity

Ability to harm specific organisms without affecting others, crucial for antibiotics to target bacteria without harming human cells.

Generation Time

Time for bacterial cell population to double, important for diagnosing infections like UTIs.

Capsule

Polysaccharide coating surrounding bacterial cells, crucial for pathogenicity and protection against phagocytosis.

Cell Wall

Present in almost all bacteria, determines cell shape, and plays a role in Gram reaction and antibiotic sensitivity.

Lysozyme

Enzyme produced by the body found in body fluids like saliva, mucus, and tears, which breaks apart mucocomplex molecules, serving as a defense against bacteria.

LPS (lipopolysaccharide)

A component of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall, specifically referring to the endotoxin Lipid A, which when free in the bloodstream can trigger severe physiological events like blood clotting and shock.

Cell Wall

Essential structure in bacterial cells that prevents cell bursting due to osmotic pressure, maintaining the integrity of the cell membrane.

Cell Membrane

Inner structure of the cell wall controlling the passage of substances in and out of the cell, with a mesosome where energy production was once thought to occur.

Flagella

Long, wavy appendages on some bacteria that enable motility and movement towards favorable or away from harmful substances, determined by the species' genes.

Pilus/pili (fimbriae)

Short appendages aiding bacterial attachment to surfaces, crucial for colonization, with the F Pilus facilitating attachment between F+ and F- bacterial cells.

R Factor

Plasmids containing genes that confer resistance to multiple antibiotics, allowing bacterial cells to withstand antibiotic treatment.

Conjugation

Process where an F+ bacterial cell transfers a copy of its plasmid to an F- cell, making the recipient cell resistant to antibiotics carried by the donor cell.

Transposon

DNA fragment conferring resistance to a single antibiotic, capable of moving between bacterial cells and multiplying, contributing to antibiotic resistance.

Spores

Dormant structures formed by bacteria under unfavorable conditions, highly resistant to heat and chemicals, necessitating specific methods like autoclaving for eradication.

Female urethra length

Female urethra is about 2 ½ times shorter than male, providing less distance for bacteria to travel through.

Bacteriuria

Presence of bacteria in urine as detected in a culture, which was initially thought to indicate a UTI but is common in healthy individuals.

Significant bacteriuria

Presence of bacteria in urine that is indicative of infection, usually with one or two specific bacteria in high numbers.

Quantitative urine culturing

Method of culturing urine that determines the number of bacterial cells per mL of urine, crucial for diagnosing infections.

Colony count

Number of bacterial cells per mL of urine, used to differentiate between infected and uninfected individuals.

Midstream urine collection kit

A kit used to collect urine samples, ensuring proper collection and reducing the risk of contamination.

Predispositions to infections

Factors such as urinary retention, ureteral reflux, obstruction, and trauma that increase the likelihood of acquiring UTIs.

Signs and symptoms of UTI

Symptoms like pain during urination, fever, urgency, frequency, lower abdominal pain, back pain, blood in urine, and malodorous or cloudy urine.

Treatments for UTIs

Include antibiotics based on sensitivity tests, cranberry juice to flush out bacteria, and increased fluid intake to dilute urine.

Types of urine specimens

Midstream urine cultures and catheter specimens, each with advantages and disadvantages for urine collection.

Supra Pubic Aspiration (SPA)

A procedure where a needle on a syringe is inserted through the abdominal wall into the bladder to obtain urine directly, mainly performed on infants.

Advantages of SPA

Direct urine collection from the bladder, avoids urethral organisms, sterile urine if no infection, no need for quantitation, clear-cut results.

Disadvantages of SPA

Invasive, potential dangers, not appealing, requires medical personnel, and patient cooperation.

Cystoscopy

A minor surgical procedure using a scope to examine the urinary tract for abnormalities, not solely for UTI diagnosis.

Advantages of Cystoscopy

Provides 3 specimens (left ureter, right ureter, bladder) for infection detection, differentiates bladder and kidney infections.

Disadvantages of Cystoscopy

Invasive, traumatic, costly, requires anesthesia, lacks skin organism culture.

Midstream/Catheterization Reports

Includes colony count, antibiotic sensitivity test, presence of mixed bacteria, and interpretation of growth.

Evaluation of UTIs

Involves documentation, bacteriuria, and urine culture to determine the presence of infection and its location.

Characteristics of Viruses

Not cells, composed of nucleic acid, capsid, envelope (in some), and spikes (in some).

Virus Life Cycle

Attachment to cell, penetration, removal of cell coat, replication of genes and proteins, assembly of new virus particles, and escape from the cell.

Ways of Virus Escape

Bursting (breaking cell membrane) and Budding (new particles bud off cell membrane).

Defense Against Viruses

Relies on white blood cells and the immune system for combating infections.

Interferon

A protein produced by infected cells to prevent adjacent cells from getting infected, primarily effective against viruses.

Self-limiting viruses

Most common viruses that are controlled and eliminated by the body's immune defenses without medical intervention.

Transformation

A process where certain viruses can mutate cells upon infection, potentially leading to the development of cancer cells.

Latency

A state where some viruses exist in cells without causing harm, potentially reactivating later to cause infection.

Serologic tests

Blood tests that detect antibodies to diagnose viral infections, with titers indicating the quantity of antibodies present.

Antivirals

Medications that interfere with viral attachment and replication processes, examples include AZT for HIV and Tamiflu for influenza.

Bacterial defenses

Immune responses, barriers (chemical, mechanical, microbial), phagocytosis, and inflammation are key defenses against bacterial infections.

Streptococcus

Genus of bacteria classified based on hemolysis, including Alpha Hemolytic Strep like Streptococcus pneumoniae causing respiratory infections.

Sinus infections

Bacterial infections that start in the throat and move up to the sinuses.

Otitis media

Infections in the middle ear that originate in the throat and travel up the eustachian tubes.

Meningitis types

There are over 100 types of meningitis, designated by Roman numerals, each differing in polysaccharide capsule composition.

Type specific immunity

Immunity developed against a specific type of Streptococcus pneumoniae due to antibodies formed against its polysaccharide capsule.

Pneumonia vaccines

Vaccines created against Streptococcus pneumoniae, one for children and another for the elderly or compromised hosts, containing polysaccharide capsules of up to 23 types.

Carriers of strep pneumoniae

Individuals already carrying Streptococcus pneumoniae, more prone to infections.

Defenses against pneumococcal pneumonia

Epiglottal reflex, mucus, cilia, coughing, lymph nodes, and alveolar macrophages.