Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A. Staphyloccocus aureus
Characteristics:
- Gram (+) cocci in clusters
- catalase and coagulase positive
- non-motile, non spore forming
- facultative anaerobe
- Toxins and enzymes
TOXINS AND ENZYMES:
1. Coagulase
- coagulates (clot) fibrin
- inhibits phagocytosis
2. Leucocidin
- destroys phagocytic leucocytes
3. Exfoliative toxin (Exfoliatin)
- sloughs off the epidermis
- responsible for the Staphylococcal Scalded
Skin Syndrome (SSS)
TOXINS AND ENZYMES:
4. Enterotoxin
- heat stable
-causes food poisoning vomiting, diarrhea
5. Toxic Shock Syndrome toxin (TSST-1)
- exotoxin
- responsible for toxic shock syndrome
6. Hyaluronidase
- destroy tissues
- breaks down proteoglycans in connective
tissue
7. Staphylokinase
- dissolves the clot
Diseases:
2. Folliculitis
3. Sty or Hordeolum
4. Furuncle (boil)
5. Carbuncle (coalescence of boils)
6. Staphylococcal Scalded skin Syndrome
7. Toxic Shock Syndrome
7. Staphylococcal Enteritis
8. Staphylococcal Pneumonia - less common
• Reservoir: Humans
• Transmission:
1. Nasal Carriers (20-30%)
- autoinfection
2. Direct Contact with a person having purulent
lesions or a carrier
3. Hands of healthcare workers (hospital)
• Incubation Period:
- Variable but usually between 4 to 10 days
• Diagnosis:
- culture
-Identification of the organism
• Treatment:
1. Penicillinase-resistant Penicillin
2. Cephalosporin
3. Clindamycin
4. Vancomycin
• Prevention and Control
1. Good personal hygiene
- Handwashing
- Antibacterial soap
- Avoid common use of toilet articles
2. Contact Precaution
3. Antibiotic ointment and solution
B. Streptococcus pyogenes
Group A Strep (GAS) / Strep A
• Characteristics
- Gram (+) cocci in chains
- Group A-Beta hemolytic
- non-motile, non-spore forming
- facultative anaerobe
• Classification of Streptococci
- Lancefield-CHO
- Group A- beta hemolytic streptococci
- Streptococci pyogenes
- Causes: strep throat, impetigo, scarlet fever
• Group B- beta hemolytic streptococci
- Streptococcus agalactiae
- Causes: decubitus ulcer, neonatal infection
• Group D- alpha hemolytic streptococci
- Enterococci
- Causes: SBE, UTI
• Streptococcus viridans
- alpha hemolytic strep
- Causes: dental caries, infectious endocarditis
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
- alpha hemolytic strep
- Causes: pneumonia, meningitis, sinusitis,
otitis media
• Toxins (Produced by Strep. Pyogenes)
1. Erythrogenic Toxin
- cause Scarlet Fever
2. Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin
• Diseases
1. Scarlet Fever
- widespread, pink red rash in the abdomen,
sides of chest and skinfolds.
2. Erysipelas (St. Anthony’s Fire)
- red hot eruptions
3. Necrotizing Fascitis
4. Impetigo
- reddish spots vesicles yellow- brown,
honey-colored crust
• Incubation period: 1 to 3 days
• Reservoir: Human
• Transmission:
-person to person via large respiratory droplets
-direct contact with patients or carriers
• Diagnosis:
- culture
- Identification of the organism
• Treatment:
1. Penicillin 4. Cephalosporin
2. Amoxicillin 5. Clindamycin
3. Erythromycin
• Prevention
- contact and droplet precaution
- isolation until treated
C. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Characteristics:
- Gram (-) motile bacillus
- Non-spore forming, obligate aerobe
- produce a blue-green pigment (pyocyanin)
- opportunistic infection
- Toxins: cytotoxin
necrotoxin
neurotoxin
- Diseases:
a. Otitis externa
b. Infection of burn wounds
c. Opportunistic respiratory infection
- Reservoir:
-widespread in nature (soil, plants, animals,
humans)
- Transmission
- Hands of personnel
- Fomites
- Treatment
- Penicillin - Quinolone
- Cephalosphorin - Carbapenems
- Aminoglycoside
- Prevention
-Aseptic treatment of wounds and burns
- Proper disposal of dressings
- Care in sterilization of catheters
D. Leptospira sp.
Characteristics: Spirochete
Highly motile, with hood ends and flagella
Manifestations:
- Mild fever
- Calf tenderness, conjunctival suffusion
- Jaundice, renal failure
Reservoir: Rodents
Transmission:
- Direct contact with urine, blood or tissue from an
infected animal
- Exposure to a contaminated environment like
Flood waters skin abrasion and mucous
membranes.
• Incubation period: 2 to 26 days
• Diagnosis:
- Isolation from blood, CSF, Urine
- Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT)
• Treatment
- Penicillin -Ampicillin
-Amoxicillin - Erythromycin
• Prevention and Control
– Chemoprophylaxis: Doxycycline 200mg once a
week
– Avoidance of exposure to urine and tissues from
infected animals
– Rodent control
E. Clostridium tetani
• Characteristics:
- Gram (+), anaerobic, spore-former bacillus
- Produce Tetanospasmin
• Disease: Tetanus
- muscle spasm
- lock jaw
- risus sardonicus
-respiratory muscle paralysis
• Reservoir: Soil
• Transmission: Spore introduced through the wounds
• Incubation Period: 3 to 21 days
• Diagnosis: Clinical findings and isolation of organism
• Treatment:
- Penicillin to eradicate vegetative cells
- Metronidazole to eradicate vegetative
cells
- Antitoxin