Bacteria disease name mode of transmission unit 9&10

Bacteria Overview

  • This document provides information about various bacteria, their associated diseases, modes of transmission, and special characteristics.

Page 1

Bacillus cereus

  • Disease: Food poisoning

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food, especially rice

  • Special Characteristics: Endospores

Bacillus anthracis

  • Disease: Skin, respiratory, GI

  • Mode of Transmission: Contact, inhalation, ingestion

  • Special Characteristics: Endospores

Borrelia burgdorferi

  • Disease: Lyme disease

  • Mode of Transmission: Tick

  • Special Characteristics: Bulls eye rash

Bordetella pertussis

  • Disease: Whooping cough

  • Mode of Transmission: Coughing and sneezing

  • Special Characteristics: Vaccine available

Chlamydia trachomatis

  • Diseases: Conjunctivitis, trachoma, nongonococcal urethritis

  • Mode of Transmission: STD by direct contact

Clostridium botulinum

  • Disease: Botulism (deadly food poisoning)

  • Mode of Transmission: Eating contaminated food

  • Special Characteristics: Endospores

Clostridium difficile

  • Disease: GI infection (C. diff)

  • Mode of Transmission: Not washing hands

  • Special Characteristics: Endospores, enterotoxins

Clostridium perfringens

  • Disease: GI issues and gas gangrene

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food or not washing hands

  • Special Characteristics: Needs necrotic tissue for gangrene, endospores, enterotoxins

Clostridium tetani

  • Disease: Tetanus

  • Mode of Transmission: Rusty nails, soil, animal feces

  • Special Characteristics: Endospores, vaccine available

Corynebacterium diphtheriae

  • Disease: Diphtheria

  • Mode of Transmission: Coughing and sneezing

  • Special Characteristics: Toxin forms covering in the throat, vaccine available

Ehrlichia chaffeensis

  • Disease: Ehrlichiosis

  • Mode of Transmission: Tick

Escherichia coli

  • Diseases: Food poisoning, UTI (opportunistic)

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food, poor hygiene

  • Special Characteristics: Enterotoxins, fimbriae, and flagella help attach

Francisella tularensis

  • Disease: Rabbit fever (tularemia)

  • Mode of Transmission: Contact with rabbits and other rodents

Helicobacter pylori

  • Disease: Stomach ulcers

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food or person-to-person

  • Special Characteristics: Adapts to acidic environments and invades stomach tissue

Legionella pneumophila

  • Disease: Respiratory pneumonia

  • Mode of Transmission: Dirty water systems, airborne (not person to person)

  • Special Characteristics: Also causes Pontiac fever

Listeria monocytogenes

  • Diseases: Meningitis, miscarriage, mild GI issues

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated food

  • Special Characteristics: Subclinical most of the time, thrives in cold temperatures

Mycobacterium tuberculosis and leprae

  • Diseases: Tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy

  • Mode of Transmission: Airborne and direct contact

  • Special Characteristics: Mycolic acid presence, acid-fast

Propionibacterium

  • Disease: Acne

  • Special Characteristics: Opportunistic, lives on skin, and likes oil

  • Type: Anaerobic

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

  • Diseases: UTI, pneumonia, ear infections

  • Special Characteristics: Opportunistic, forms biofilms

Page 2

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

  • Disease: Gonorrhea

  • Special Characteristics: Major cause of urethritis

Neisseria meningitidis

  • Disease: Meningitis

  • Mode of Transmission: Respiratory or throat secretions, direct contact

  • Special Characteristics: Vaccine available

Rickettsia

  • Disease: Typhus

  • Mode of Transmission: Fleas, body lice

Rickettsia rickettsii

  • Disease: Rocky Mountain spotted fever

  • Mode of Transmission: Ticks

Salmonella S. typhi

  • Disease: Food poisoning, typhoid fever

  • Mode of Transmission: Chickens and poor hygiene

Shigella

  • Disease: Food poisoning

  • Mode of Transmission: Mainly fecal-oral but also contact

  • Special Characteristics: Enterotoxin

Staphylococcus aureus

  • Diseases: Skin infections, scalded skin syndrome, impetigo, food poisoning, endocarditis

  • Mode of Transmission: Contact or contaminated food

  • Special Characteristics: Contains catalase and hyaluronidase

Streptococcus mutans

  • Disease: Dental decay

  • Mode of Transmission: Normal microbiota

  • Special Characteristics: Uses sugars to produce acids leading to tooth decay

Streptococcus pneumoniae

  • Diseases: Upper respiratory infections, pneumonia, meningitis

  • Mode of Transmission: Some are part of normal microbiota, spread through close contact

  • Special Characteristics: Capsule, gram-positive (resistant to penicillin), vaccine available

Streptococcus pyogenes

  • Diseases: Strep throat, erysipelas, glomerulonephritis, necrotizing fasciitis, endocarditis

  • Mode of Transmission: Close contact

  • Special Characteristics: Gram-positive (resistant to penicillin), produces collagenase and hyaluronidase

Treponema pallidum

  • Disease: Syphilis

  • Mode of Transmission: STD, direct contact

  • Special Characteristics: Uses fluorescent antibody tests, has three stages

Vibrio cholerae

  • Disease: Cholera

  • Mode of Transmission: Contaminated water or food

  • Special Characteristics: Produces enterotoxin

  • Note: This document is not an exhaustive list of bacteria, but highlights common bacterial types.