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Microbiology

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Microbiology
 Micro means microscopically small and bio means living organisms
 Science of living organisms that are only visible under microscopes

 Microbes includes
• Bacteria
• Fungus
• Viruses
• Algae
• Protozoa

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 Medical microbiology is the study of causative agents of

infectious diseases of humans and their reactions to such
infections. In other words it deals with etiology, pathogenesis,
laboratory diagnosis, specific treatment and control of infection
(immunization).

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Modern medical microbiology

 Bacteriology – the science of bacteria, the causative agents of a
member of infectious diseases.
 Virology – the science of viruses, non-cellular living systems, capable
of causing infectious diseases in man.
 Immunology – the science which concerned with mechanisms of
body protection against pathogenic microorganisms and foreign cells
and substances.
 Mycology – the study of fungi pathogenic for man.
 Protozoology – which deals with pathogenic unicellular organisms.

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History
 Father of microbiology - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

 Father of modern microbiology - Louis Pasteur

 Father of medical microbiology and bacteriology - Robert Koch

 Father of immunology – Edward Jenner

 Father of virology – W.M. Stanley

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Louis Pasteur
 Father of Modern Microbiology
 Disproved the theory of spontaneous
generation.
 Developed Pasteurization technique.
 First person to prove that the organism were
responsible for causation of disease.
 He differentiated aerobic, anaerobic and
facultative anaerobic organisms.
 He developed first vaccine & coined the term
Vaccine.
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Louis Pasteur
 He developed methods and techniques for
cultivation of micro organisms.
 Introduced sterilization techniques -
steam sterilizer, hot air oven and autoclave.
 Development of effective vaccines ( Rabies
and Anthrax ).
 He developed live attenuated vaccine for
the disease.

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Robert Koch
 Father of Medical Microbiology
 One of the founder of modern bacteriology
 He introduced solid media for culturing and
isolating bacteria
 He introduced agar as a solidifying agent for
culture media
 He introduced staining techniques by using
aniline dye

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Robert Koch
 He identified tubercle bacilli so it is also
named as Koch bacilli.
 He also identified causative agents of cholera
and anthrax
 Discovered hanging drop motility
 First to cultivate Vibrio cholera
 His research led to the creation of Koch’s
Postulates - four criteria designed to
establish a causal relationship between
a microbe and a disease
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Microbiological nomenclature
 In microbiology the binominal system of nomenclature is accepted
where each species has a generic and a specific name

 The generic name is written with a capital letter, and the specific name
with a small letter

 For example: the anthrax bacillus – Bacillus anthracis; the tetanus

bacillus – Clostridium tetani.
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Terminologies in microbiology
 INFECTION
• Lodgement and multiplication of microorganisms in or on the
tissues of host
• All infections do not invariably result in disease
• Infection and disease are not synonyms

 DISEASE
• Condition in which there is an impairment in body function caused
by microorganism or other condition
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 SAPROPHYTES
• Organism that live on dead or decay organic matter
 PARASITE
• Organism that depends completely on host and cannot live an
independent life
• Host is injured and only parasite is benefited
 COMMENSAL
• Organism lives in complete harmony with host
• Organism benefited without causing injury to host
 PATHOGEN
• Microorganism capable of producing a disease or harmful microbes
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 PATHOGENECITY
• Ability to cause disease or disease causing capacity
 VIRULENCE
• Degree of pathogenicity or severity of a disease
 PATHOGENESIS
• Manner or the process by which a disease develops
 ETIOLOGY
• Causative agent of disease
 OPPURTUNISTIC PATHOGEN
• Organism that produce disease when host resistance is lowered
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 ZOONOSIS
• Infectious disease transmitted from animals to man
• e.g. Rabies from dogs
 EPIZOOTIC
• A disease event in a non human population
• Common diseases that occur at a constant but relatively high
rate in animal population
• Outbreak of disease affecting many animals of one kind at the
same time
• Influenza infection in birds
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 ATTACK RATE
• It is the bio statistical measure of frequency of morbidity or speed of
spreading an at risk population.
 CONTAGIOUS DISEASE
• Transmissible disease
• Transmitted from one patient to another
 INFECTIOUS DISEASE
• Disease caused by microorganism
• Also known as a transmissible disease or communicable disease
• Is an illness resulting from an infection.

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Types of infectious diseases

 Localised Or Generalised
 BACTEREMIA
• Presence of viable bacteria in circulating blood
 SEPTICEMIA
• Presence of bacteria together with toxins in blood and high fever
 TOXEMIA
• Presence of toxins in blood
 PYEMIA
• Pyogenic bacteria produce septicemia with multiple abscesses in
the internal organ (spleen, liver, kidney).
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Depending on their spread in the community

 ENDEMIC DISEASE
• Disease that constantly present in an area
• e.g. Malaria endemic in Africa.
 EPIDEMIC DISEASE
• Disease that spreads rapidly involving many persons
• It’s not continually present but has been introduced from outside
• e.g. Cholera
 PANDEMIC
• Widespread involving large areas of world and large populations in
a short period
• e.g. Influenza, Covid -19
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 VECTOR
• Insects or any living carrier that transmit
pathogen
• mosquitos, ticks, fleas, lice, mites
1. Mechanical vector : transmission is
mechanical - only transport pathogen
• e.g. fly, cockroach
2. Biological vectors : not only transport
but also plays a role in the life cycle of the
pathogen
• e.g. virus inside mosquito and bacteria
inside tick
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 HOST
• The individual or animal who harbours microorganisms and
capable of being infected by it.
 FORMITE
• A fomite or fomes is any inanimate object that, when
contaminated with or exposed to infectious agents, can transfer
disease to a new host
e.g. clothes, utensils, hand towels, pencils and furniture

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Types of infection
 PRIMARY INFECTION
• Initial infection with a microorganism

 SECONDARY INFECTION
• When a new organism sets up an infection in a host whose
resistance is lowered by a preexisting infectious disease

 REINFECTION
• Subsequent infection with same microorganism in same host
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 NOSOCOMIAL / HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTION

• Cross infection acquired in hospitals
 IATROGENIC INFECTION
• Physician induced infection resulting from drug therapy or
investigative procedures
 LATENT INFECTION
• Following infection, some organism remain hidden form in host
tissue. They proliferate and produce disease when host resistance
is lowered
 ATYPICAL INFECTION
• Typical clinical manifestation are absent
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 MIXED INFECTION
• 2 or more microbes infecting same tissue
 ACUTE INFECTION
• Infection of rapid onset and brief duration
 CHRONIC INFECTION
• For prolonged duration
 PYOGENIC INFECTION
• Pus forming
 CONGENITAL INFECTION
• From mother to baby
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How infection is transmitted?

Transmission of infection

Reservoir and
Mode of
source of Susceptible host
transmission
infection

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Reservoir
• Place where microorganism normally
lives, multiplies and depends primarily
for its survival

• It can be animal, plant, soil or inanimate

matter

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Source of infection
• Normal flora outside its
habitat
1.ENDOGENOUS
SOURCES • E.coli normal flora of
intestine can cause UTI

SOURCE
OF
INFECTION
• HUMAN CASES AND
CARRIERS
2.EXOGENOUS • ANIMALS
SOURCES • INSECTS
• SOIL AND WATER
• FOOD

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Endogenous sources
 Direct source
 Source of infection is the normal bacterial flora
 Normal floras are usually non pathogenic but in certain situations they
become pathogenic and cause infections.
 During some surgical operations or instrumental manipulations.
 Normal commensals of the skin, RT, GI, UG tract etc.
• e.g. E.coli present as normal flora of the intestine may cause UTI.

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Exogenous sources

 Indirect source of infection

 Source of infection is from outside the host’s body
 From another patient or staff member (cross infection) or
environment in the hospitals.
 Hospital environments:- inanimate objects, air, ventilators, dust,
bedpans, catheters, water, wash bowls, etc.

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1. HUMAN CASES AND CARRIERS

• Patients
• Carriers - person who harbours pathogenic microorganism
without suffering from its ill effects
2. ANIMALS
• Zoonosis
3. SOIL AND WATER
• Spores and organisms
4. FOOD
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5. INSECTS
• Blood sucking insects such as mosquitos, ticks, fleas, lice ,
mites-arthropod borne diseases
• Insects that transmit pathogen - VECTOR
• VECTOR
• Mechanical vector - carry organism on legs and wings and
transmit to food
• Biological vector - pathogen multiplies in body of vector.
• e.g. Female anopheles mosquito in malaria
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Humans
- Commonest source : a patients and a carrier
- A carrier is a person who harbours the pathogenic microorganism
without suffering from any ill effect because of it.
- Types : healthy carrier and convalescent carrier
- Convalescent carrier – who has recovered from the disease and
continues to harbour the pathogen in his body.
- Depending on the duration of carriage : temporary (less than 6
months) and chronic carrier (last for several years)
- Contact carrier : person who acquires the pathogen from a patient
- Paradoxical carrier : who acquires the pathogen from another carrier
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Animals
 Zoonoses : Infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans
 Reservoir host : In some animals infection may be asymptomatic,
such animals serve to maintain the parasite in nature and act as a
reservoir of human infections, they are called reservoir host.
 Zoonotic disease may be
• Bacterial (plaque from rat)
• Viral (rabies)
• Protozoal (toxoplasmosis)
• Anthrax
• Brucellosis
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Insects
 Arthropod – borne diseases : Blood sucking insects may transmit
pathogens to humans
 Vectors : arthropods or any living carrier that transmit infections
• Mechanical vector : transmission is mechanical - only transport
pathogen
• e.g. fly
• Biological vectors : not only transport but also plays a role in the
life cycle of the pathogen
• e.g. virus inside mosquito and bacteria inside tick
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Modes of transmission
 Contact
 Ingestion
 Inhalation
 Inoculation
 Vectors
 Transplacental
 Iatrogenic And Lab Infections

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Modes of transmission
1. CONTACT
A. DIRECT CONTACT
• STD, Direct contact with patients

B. INDIRECT CONTACT
• Transmitted through fomites (non living objects that carry
pathogens)
2. INGESTION
• Contaminated food and water
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3. INHALATION
• Respiratory infections
• During speaking, sneezing, coughing organisms shed into
environment
• Large drops fall into ground and dry
• Small drops less than 0.1 mm in diameter evaporate immediately to
become droplet nuclei - remain suspended in air for long periods.
4. INOCULATION
• Direct inoculation to host
• e.g. bites of insect, usage of unsterile instruments, transfusion

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5. VECTORS
• Mechanical/biological
6. TRANSPLACENTAL
• Some pathogen cross placental barrier and infect foetus in utero-
vertical transmission
7. IATROGENIC AND LAB INFECTIONS
• Transmitted during injections, lumbar puncture and
catheterisation
• Exchange transfusion, dialysis and organ transplant surgery
• Laboratory personnel handling infectious materials
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Susceptible host
• An individual or organism that is vulnerable to infection or disease
caused by a particular pathogen, due to the lack of immunity, age,
genetic makeup, health status, immunization, nutrition, and lifestyle
choices.
Portal of entry
• Route through which organism enters body
• It can be respiratory, genitourinary, oral, cutaneous or conjunctival
Incubation period
• Time interval between entry of infective agent and onset of clinical
features of disease
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• Find out an example of disease in which

source of infection and reservoir is same.

• Find out an example of disease in which

source of infection and reservoir is
different.

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Expected questions
 5 marks
• Types of infection
• Transmission of disease
• Modes of transmission

 3 marks
• Exogenous infection
• Endogenous infection
• Vector
• Zoonoses / Zoonotic diseases
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Thank You

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