Describe the morphology of Campylobacter.
Slender, spiral, gram negative
Describe the motility of Campylobacter.
Single polar flagellum - corkscrew swim - swim through fluids faster than any other microbe
What is the fastest microbe?
Campylobacter
Describe the aerobic status of Campylobacter.
Microaerophilic and Capnophilic
What does microaerophilic mean?
Don’t like a full complement of atmospheric oxygen, but not as oxygen susceptible as anaerobes.
What does capnophilic mean?
Loves carbon dioxide
Describe an important metabolic characteristics of Campylobacter.
Asaccharolytic
What does Asaccharolytic mean?
Doesn’t split sugars at all
What is an example Campylobacter species?
C. jejuni
What are the principal reservoirs for farm animals of Campylobacter?
Wild birds
Where is Campylobacter always present?
Surface water
Other than water, where else can people get Campylobacter?
raw or undercooked poultry, meat, fish and shellfish
What kind of diarrhea does Campylobacter cause?
Jet propulsion
Campylobacter is commonly found in raw _____ due to fecal contamination at ________ and occasionally to campylobacter _________.
milk
milking
mastitis
What grocery store thing has really reduced infection rates of Campylobacter?
Air chilling
Most common cause of acute enteritis in developed countries is due to this bacterium.
Campylobacter enteritis
What are very closely related species to Campylobacter Enteritis?
C. jejuni and C. coli
Campylobacter jejuni causes ____% of Campylobacter infections.
80-90%
What is a rare but more serious complication of Campylobacter Enteritis?
Peripheral neuropathy - Guillain-Barré
Describe Vibrio.
Motility. Gram stain. Morphology. Enzyme related to oxygen. Habitat.
Motile Gram negative Curved rod Oxidase positive Free living in brackish and marine waters
Vibrio is commonly associated with what type of food?
Seafood
What are the only antigens useful for classifying Vibrio?
O antigens
When are Vibrio infections in coastal areas more common?
When the water is warmer
V. mimimus mimics what?
Cholera to a lesser degree
What is a very common cause of self-limited gastroenteritis in Japan?
V. parahemolyticus
What Vibrio cholerae strains cause cholera? What do the other strains cause?
O1 - cholera
non-O1 cause milder diarrhea
Where does one get cholera from?
Contaminated drinking water
How does the cholera toxin exert its effects?
Cholera toxin binds to GM 1 ganglioside receptors on intestinal mucosa –> activates cAMP –> inhibits sodium reabsorption and causes Cl- secretion
What is a description often given to the very-water diarrhea of those affected by cholera?
rice-water stool - slightly cloudy
In severe cases (cholera gravis), how is dehydration treated?
oral rehydration solution or IV fluids
How can vibrio cholerae O1 be subclassified?
According to 3 antigenic seroptyes (Ogawa, Inaba, Hikojima); and two biogroups - classical and El Tor
Describe the cholera toxin.
Central active - A - subunit
and non-toxic pentameric binding - B - subunits
What is the cholera vaccine?
Why is it extra-useful?
Dukoral
Cross-reacts with ETEC and thus can prevent traveler’s diarrhea
What are Vibrios primarily associated with wound infections or sepsis?
V. vulnificus
V. alginolyticus
V. damsela
Which vibrio is the monster of the deep?
Vibrio vulnificus
What are the two main syndromes caused by Vibrio vulnificus?
Primary sepsis (in patients with underlying chronic diseases - esp. liver disease) Wound infections (including necrotizing fasciitis)
What are vibrio vulnificus infections usually due to?
Swimming in sea water with open wound or cleaning raw shellfish
Although people used to think that peptic ulcer diathesis was due to acid, what is it really due to?
infection of the stomach lining by Helicobacter
Describe Helicobacter.
- Motility
- Where do they colonize? Why is this weird?
- What is the main Helicobacter sp?
polar flagella
Colonize stomach lining - which is weird considering bacteria don’t usually tolerate acid
Helicobacter pylori
How are Helicobacters able to evade stomach acid?
Live in the mucous layer
Produce a very high amount of urease enzyme - splits ammonia and produces a very alkaline microenvironment
How does one diagnose an H. pylori infection?
Anntibody blood test
Radioactive urea and do a breath test
Endoscopic biopsy
What is a virulence factor of H. pylori
It produces a cytotoxin
What does helicobacter cause?
What is the relation to cancer?
Helicobacter causes acute gastritis and gastric/duodenal ulcers
Associated with gastric cancer and gastric B-cell lymphoma
What is another term for gastric B cell lymphoma?
MALToma