2. AIR BORN DISEASES
Diphtheria, Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever,
Tuberculosis, Streptococcal diseases, and
Mycoplasmal pneumonia etc.
ARTHROPOD BORN DISEASES
Plague. Lyme disease, Typhus etc.
DIREACT CONTACT DISEASES
Vaginosis, Chancroid, Gas Gangrene, Leprosy, Peptic ulcer
Staphylococcal diseases, Syphilis etc.
ZOONOTIC DIDEASES
Anthrax, Brucellosis , Psitticosis, Tularemia etc
FOOD AND WATER BORN DISEASES
Botulism, Cholera, and Staphylococcal food poisoning
Typhoid etc.
DENTAL DISEASES
Dental plaque, Dental Decay (Caries) etc.
Contents
3. AIR BORNE DISEASES
RESPIRATORY
– Most of the airborne diseases caused by bacteria
involve the respiratory system
Examples
− Diphtheria
− Legionnaires’ disease
− Pontiac fever
− Tuberculosis infections
− Pertussis
− Streptococcal diseases
− Mycoplasmal pneumonia
4. SKIN DISEASES
Some airborne bacteria can cause skin diseases
EXAMPLES
− Cellulitis
− Erysipelas
SYSTEMIC DISEASES
cause systemic or visceral damage
− Meningitis
− Glomerulonephritis
− Rheumatic fever
6. • This toxin is an exotoxin that causes an inflammatory
response and the formation of a grayish
pseudomembrane on the pharynx and respiratory
mucosa
• The pseudomembrane consists of dead host cells
and cells of C. diphtheriae.
• Diphtheria toxin is absorbed into the circulatory
system and distributed throughout the body, where it
may
• Cause destruction of cardiac, kidney, and nervous
tissues by inhibiting protein synthesis.
7. • The toxin is composed of two polypeptide
subunits: A and B.
• A subunit consists of the catalytic domain;
• B subunit is composed of the receptor and
transmembrane domains
• The receptor domain binds to the heparin-
binding epidermal growth factor receptor on
the surface of various eucaryotic cells.
8. The transmembrane domain of the toxin embeds itself
into the target cell membrane causing the catalytic
domain to be cleaved and translocated into the
cytoplasm.
The cleaved catalytic domain becomes an active
enzyme, catalyzing the attachment of ADP-ribose
(from NAD) to elongation factor-2 (EF-2).
A single enzyme (i.e., catalytic domain) can exhaust the
entire supply of cellular EF-2 within hours, resulting
in protein synthesis inhibition and cell death.
9. Typical symptoms
Diphtheria include a thick mucopurulent
(containing both mucus and pus) nasal discharge,
pharyngitis, fever, cough, paralysis, and death.
(C. diphtheriae can also infect the skin, usually at a
wound or skin lesion, causing a slow healing
ulceration termed cutaneous diphtheria.)
Diagnosis
Observation of the pseudomembrane in the throat
and by bacterial culture. Diphtheria antitoxin is given
to neutralize any unabsorbed exotoxin in the patient’s
tissues; penicillin and erythromycin are used to treat
the infection.
10. Prevention
active immunization with DPT (diphtheria-pertussis-
tetnus) vaccine;
and then boosted with DTap (diphtheria toxoid,
tetanus toxoid, acellular B. pertussis vaccine); or
Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid,
acellular pertussis vaccine, adsorbed), approved in
2005
11. The clinical appearance includes gross inflammation of the pharynx and
tonsils marked by grayish patches (a pseudomembrane) and swelling of the
entire area.
13. Plague
Yersinia pestis
Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic rods
In the southwestern part of the United States,
plague occurs primarily in wild ground squirrels,
chipmunks, mice, and prairie dogs.
massive human epidemics occurred in Europe
during the Middle Ages, where the disease was
known as the Black Death due to black-colored,
subcutaneous hemorrhages.
14. Transmission
• Y. pestis secretes plasmid-encoded yersinal
outer membrane proteins (YOPS) into
phagocytic cells to counter-act natural defense
mechanisms
• help the bacteria multiply and disseminate in
the host
15. Types of plague
Pneumonic plague occurs when Y. pestis is either
inhaled directly or reaches the lungs via the blood or
lymphatic circulation.
• Symptoms are usually absent until the last day or two
of the disease when large amounts of bloody sputum
are produced.
• Untreated individuals rarely survive more than 2 days.
Pneumonic plague is highly contagious and can spread
rapidly via the person-to-person respiratory route if
infected individuals are not immediately quarantined.
16. Septicemic plague is the rapid spread of Y. pestis
throughout the body via the bloodstream without
the formation of buboes and usually causes death
before a diagnosis can be made.
Bubonic plague
Symptoms—besides the subcutaneous hemorrhages—
include fever, chills, headache, extreme exhaustion,
and the appearance of enlarged lymph nodes called
buboes (hence another old name)
17.
18. Prevention and control
• Prevention and control involve flea and rodent
control, isolation of human patients, prophylaxis
or abortive therapy of exposed persons, and
vaccination (Plague vaccine) of persons at high
risk.
• Y. pestis infection is treated with streptomycin
or gentamicin.
• Alternatively, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, or
chloramphenicol may be given intravenously.
19. DIRECT CONTACT DISEASES
Most of the direct contact bacterial diseases involve the
skin, mucous membranes, or underlying tissues.
Examples
Vaginosis
Chancroid
Gas gangrene
Leprosy
Peptic ulcer disease and gastritis,
Staphylococcal diseases
Syphilis
21. Stages of Syphilis
Three recognizable stages of syphilis occur in untreated
adults.
In the primary stage, after an incubation period of
about 10 days to 3 weeks or more, the initial
symptom is a small, painless, reddened ulcer, or
chancre [French canker, a destructive sore]
with a hard ridge that appears at the infection site
and contains spirochetes
Contact with the chancre during sexual contact may
result in disease transmission.
22. The spirochetes typically enter the bloodstream and are
distributed throughout the body. Within 2 to 10
weeks after the primary lesion appears, the disease
may enter the secondary stage, which is
characterized by a highly variable skin rash
Both the chancre and the rash lesions are infectious.
After several weeks the disease becomes latent.
23. After many years a tertiary stage develops in about
40% of untreated individuals with secondary
syphilis. During this stage degenerative lesions
called gummas form in the skin, bone, and
nervous system as the result of hypersensitivity
reactions.
Involvement of the central nervous system may result
in tissue loss that can lead to cognitive deficits,
blindness, a ―shuffle‖walk (tabes), or insanity.
24. Treatment
• In the early stages of the disease is easily
accomplished with long-acting benzathine penicillin
G or aqueous procaine penicillin.
• Later stages of syphilis are more difficult to treat
with drugs and require much larger doses over a
longer period.
• For example, in neurosyphilis cases, treponemes
occasionally survive such drug treatment.
25. FOOD-BORNE AND WATER
BORNE DISEASES
• Humans contract the food-borne and water-borne
bacterial diseases when they ingest contaminated
food or water.
These diseases are essentially of two types:
• Infections and intoxications. An infection occurs
when a pathogen enters the gastrointestinal tract
and multiplies.
Examples include Campylobacter gastroenteritis,
salmonellosis, listerosis, shigellosis, Escherichia coli
infections and typhoid etc.
26. • An intoxication occurs because of the
ingestion of a toxin.
• Examples include botulism, cholera, and
staphylococcal food poisoning.
• Because these toxins disrupt the functioning
of the intestinal mucosa, they are called
enterotoxins.
27. Botulism
Cause: Clostridium botulinum
– Properties of the Clostridium
• Gram-positive rod
• Strictly anaerobic
• Spore-former
• Widely distributed, especially in soil
and water
28. Transmission
• A neurotoxin that binds to the synapses of motor
neurons
• It selectively cleaves the synaptic vesicle
membrane protein synaptobrevin, thus
preventing exocytosis and release of the
neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
• As a consequence, muscles do not contract in
response to motor neuron activity, and flaccid
paralysis results
29. Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Symptoms of botulism occur within 12 to 72
hours of toxin ingestion and include blurred
vision, difficulty in swallowing and speaking,
muscle weakness, nausea, and vomiting.
• Laboratory diagnosis is restricted to
Laboratory Response Network facilities and is
by demonstration of the toxin in the patient’s
serum or vomitus.
30. Prevention & Control
Prevention and control of botulism
involves
(1)strict adherence to safe food-processing
practices by the food industry
(2)educating the public on safe home-
preserving (canning) methods for foods,
(3)not feeding honey to infants younger than 1
year of age.
31.
32. ZOONOTIC DISEASES
• Diseases transmitted from animals to
humans are called Zoonotic diseases.
Examples
• Anthrax
• Brucellosis
• Psitticosis
• Tularemia
33. Anthrax
• The causative bacterium is the relatively large, gram-
positive, aerobic, endospore-forming Bacillus
anthracis
Human infection is usually
• cutaneous anthrax
through a cut or abrasion of the skin
• pulmonary anthrax (woolsorter’s disease)
inhaling spores
• gastrointestinal anthrax
spores reach the gastrointestinal tract
34. Cutaneous Anthrax
(a) A protein called protective antigen (PA) delivers
two other proteins, edema factor (EF) and lethal factor
(LF), to the capillary morphogenesis protein-2 (CMP-2)
receptor on the cell membrane of a target macrophage
where
PA, EF, and LF are transported to an endosome. PA then
delivers EF and LF from the endosome into the
cytoplasm of the macrophage where they exert their
toxic effects.
(b) A cutaneous anthrax papule will ulcerate and
necrose
(c) an eschar will form
36. Role of EF and LF
• EF has adenylate cyclase activity, similar to diphtheria
toxins; increasing intracellular cAMP releases fluid or
the formation of edema.
• Additionally, LF interferes with a transcription factor,
nuclear factor B (NFB), which regulates numerous
cytokine and other immunity genes, promoting
macrophage survival.
As thousands of macrophages die, they release their
lysosomal contents, leading to fever, internal bleeding,
septic shock, and rapid death.
37. Treatment
• The incubation period for cutaneous
anthrax is 1 to 15 days
• The eschar dries and falls off in 1 to
weeks with little scarring
Antibiotics
Ciprofloxacin
Penicillin
Doxycycline
38. Pulmonary Anthrax
• In inhalation anthrax, the spores (1 to 2 µm in
diameter) are inhaled and lodge in the alveolar spaces
where they are engulfed by alveolar macrophages.
• Pulmonary anthrax results in massive pulmonary
edema, hemorrhage, and respiratory arrest.
• The medial lethal inhalation dose for humans has been
estimated to be about 8,000 spores.
39. Two phase Illness
• In the initial phase, which follows an incubation period
of 1 to 6 days, the disease appears as a nonspecific
illness characterized by mild fever, malaise,
nonproductive cough, and some chest pain.
• The second phase begins abruptly and involves a
higher fever, acute dyspnea (shortness of breath), and
cyanosis (oxygen deficiency).
• This stage progresses rapidly, with septic shock,
associated hypothermia, and death occurring within 24
to 36 hours from respiratory failure.
40. Gastrointestinal Anthrax
• The symptoms of gastrointestinal anthrax appear 2 to
5 days after the ingestion of undercooked meat
containing spores
Symptoms
• nausea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain.
• The manifestations progress rapidly to severe,
bloody diarrhea. The primary lesions are ulcerative
enabling B. anthracis to become bloodborne.
• Mortality is greater than 50 percent.
41. Diagnosis
• Presumptive identification in sentinel laboratories of
the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) is based on
the direct
• Gram stained smear of a skin lesion, cerebrospinal
fluid, or blood that shows encapsulated, broad, gram-
positive bacilli.
• Presumptive identification is also made on the basis
of growth and biochemical characteristics of cultures:
large, flat, nonhemolytic colonies; nonmotile; positive
for catalase and positive for capsule production.
• Confirmatory diagnosis is performed by PCR and
serological tests for toxins at a reference laboratory
of the LRN.
42. DENTAL INFECTIONS
• Only a few bacteria can be considered true dental
pathogens, or odontopathogens.
• The hard enamel surface selectively absorbs acidic
glycoproteins (mucins) from saliva, forming a
membranous layer called the acquired enamel pellicle.
• sulfate (SO4
-2) and carboxylate (–COO) groups that confer a
net negative charge to the tooth surface.
Most common bacterial diseases in humans:
• Dental Plaque/tooth decay
• Periodontal disease
43. Dental Plaque
• Dental plaque formation begins with the initial
colonization of the pellicle by Streptococcus gordonii, S.
oralis, S. sobrinus, S. mutans and S. mitis
• Coaggregation is the result of cell-to-cell recognition
between genetically distinct bacteria
• Many of these interactions are mediated by a lectin (a
carbohydrate-binding protein) on one bacterium.
44. Plaque Formation
• S. mutans and S. sobrinus produce extracellular enzymes
(glucosyltransferases) that polymerize the glucose part of
sucrose into a heterogeneous group of extracellular,
water-soluble and water-insoluble glucan polymers and
other polysaccharides.
• Glucans are branched-chain polysaccharides composed
of glucose units acting like a cement to bind bacterial cells
together, forming a plaque ecosystem.
• Once plaque becomes established, the surface of the
tooth becomes anoxic.
45. Demineralization
• This leads to the growth of strict anaerobic bacteria
(Bacteroides melaninogenicus, B. oralis, and Veillonella
alcalescens), especially between opposing teeth and the
dental-gingival crevices.
Bacteria produce lactic, acetic and formic acids from
sucrose and other sugars.
Because plaque is not permeable to saliva, the acids are
not diluted or neutralized, and they demineralize the
enamel to produce a lesion on the tooth.
It is this chemical lesion that initiates dental decay.
“Botulinum toxin is activated by proteolytic cleavage; the activated structure is a 150-kd polypeptide comprising two chains (a heavy chain [100 kd] and a light chain [50 kd]) that are connected by a single disulfide bond. Botulinum toxin enters the circulation and is transported to the neuromuscular junction. At the neuromuscular junction, the heavy chain of the toxin binds to the neuronal membrane on the presynaptic side of the peripheral synapse. The toxin then enters the neuronal cell via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The light chain of the toxin crosses the membrane of the endocytic vesicle and enters the cytoplasm. Once inside the cytoplasm, the light chain of the toxin (which is a zinc-containing endopeptidase) cleaves some of the proteins that form the synaptic fusion complex. These proteins, referred to as SNARE proteins, include synaptobrevin (cleaved by toxin types B, D, F, and G), syntaxin (cleaved by toxin type C), and synaptosomal-associated protein (SNAP-25; cleaved by toxin types A, C, E).The synaptic fusion complex allows the synaptic vesicles (which contain acetylcholine) to fuse with the terminal membrane of the neuron. Disruption of the synaptic fusion complex prevents the vesicles from fusing with the membrane, which in turn prevents release of acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft. Without neuronal acetylcholine release, the affiliated muscle is unable to contract and becomes paralyzed. The blockade of acetylcholine release lasts up to several months; normal functioning slowly resumes either through turnover of SNARE proteins within the cytoplasm or through production of new synapses. “References:Arnon SS, Schechter R, Inglesby TV et al. Working Group on Civilian Biodefense. Botulinum toxin as a biological weapon: medical and public health management.JAMA. 2001 Feb 28;285(8):1059-70.