Bacillus

Question 1

What is Bacillus also known as?

Answer 1

Anthrax

Question 2

True/False: Bacillus forms a spore

Answer 2

True!!!!- They are spore forming

Question 3

What is the main pathogen of Bacillus?

Answer 3

Bacillus Anthracis

Question 4

What does Bacillus form?

Answer 4

Very long gram positive rods

Question 5

Are Bacillus anaerobic or aerobic?

Answer 5

Facultative anaerobes

Question 6

Bacillus is catalase _____ and oxidase ______

Answer 6

catalase positive and oxidase negative

Question 7

How do you distinguish Bacillus from Clostridia?

Answer 7

Catalse test

If it bubbles you have Bacillus

If it doesn’t bubble you have clostridia

Question 8

Where is Bacillus typically found?

Answer 8

soil and water

Question 9

Why can Bacillus survive in the environement for long periods of time?

Answer 9

endospore is very hearty- can live forever

Question 10

What plasmids does Bacillus produce?

Answer 10

pX01 and pX02

plasmids makes them very virulent

PX02 encodes for the capsule

Question 11

What regulatory proteins does Bacillus have?

Answer 11

AtxA- anthrax toxin activator

AcpA- Anthrax capsule activator

Question 12

What does the capsule do in Bacillus

Answer 12

inhibits phagocytosis

composed of D-Glutamyl polypeptide

Question 13

non encapsulted isolates are essentially _____

Answer 13

avirulent

vaccine can get a good reaction against an avirulent bacillus anthracis

Question 14

What is the two toxins of Bacillus?

Answer 14

Lethal toxin and Edema toxin

Question 15

What is Lethal toxin composed of?

Answer 15

Protective antigen (PA) and lethal factor (LF)

LF is responsible for the toxic activity

Protective antigen is for adhesion

Question 16

What does Lethal toxin cause at high and low doses?

Answer 16

At low doses causes cytokine storm- multi organ failure and death

At high doses- apoptosis of macrophages

Question 17

What is the lethal toxin and edema toxin under the control of?

Answer 17

AtxA

Question 18

what is the edema toxin composed of?

Answer 18

protective antigen and edema factor

Question 19

What does edema factor cause?

Answer 19

electrolyte and fluid loss in affected cells

Question 20

Why do we incinerate carcasses that have bacillus anthracis?

Answer 20

because the vegetative cells can survive for 2 weeks in unopened carcass

Question 21

what kind of soils does bacillus anthracis love?

Answer 21

calcium rich soils

calcium plays a huge rold in formation of the endospore

Question 22

Spores can persist for ____ in dry environment

Answer 22

decades

Question 23

Does Bacillus anthracis have a large variability?

Answer 23

No- they have spores that live forever on the ground so they don’t need to be variable

Question 24

What species are resistant to Bacillus?

Answer 24

Carnivores are fairly resistant

Birds are totally resistant

Question 25

What is the infectious unit of the Bacteria?

Answer 25

Endospore

Question 26

What are the modes of transmission of Bacillus?

Answer 26

ingestion of contaminated feed and water- bone meal and animal feed supplements are common vehicles wound infection arthropod bites Sheering sheep- wool may have anthrax

Question 27

Pathogenesis of Bacillus

Answer 27

1. animal ingests the spore or it enters a wound 2. Bacteria phagocytosed by macrophages- spores germinate into vegetative form 3. due to environmental cues the toxins will start getting released 4. Bacteria escapes its vegetative form from the phagolysosome and causes cytokine storm 5. fluid and elecrolyte loss via edema factor 6. multi organ dysfunction, shock, and depletion of clotting factor

Question 28

when does the vegetative form start?

Answer 28

Once the spore gets into the tissue

Question 29

What causes bleeding at body orifices?

Answer 29

Lethal factor This is followed by shock and death

Question 30

What are some post mortem findings with Bacillus?

Answer 30

ABSENCE OF RIGOR MORTIS non clotting blood- bleeding from the nose and other orfices hemorrhage friable spleen

Question 31

Who are the most susceptible species for Bacillus?

Answer 31

Sheep and Cattle They get Septicemia!!!

Question 32

True/ False: Bacillus has a long incubation period?

Answer 32

False- very short incubation period 1-5 days sometimes animals can die without clinical signs

Question 33

What are clinical signs in horses with Bacillus?

Answer 33

Colic, diarrhea, and edema

Question 34

What clinical signs are produced in swine with Bacillus?

Answer 34

obstructive edema may cause death hemorrhagic enteritis

Question 35

Pathogenesis of Cutaneous Anthrax

Answer 35

1. bacteria enters through cut or abrasion 2. incubation for a few days- papule forms 3. papule becomes blister that ulcerates 4. lesion dries and leaves necrotic area called BLACK ESCHAR low fatality

Question 36

What causes gastrointestinal anthrax and what is the outcome?

Answer 36

consumption of contaminated meat Septiemia can occur Comes with a high fatality rate! (25-60%)

Question 37

What are the characteristic of inhalation anthrax?

Answer 37

Mortality is 100% pulmonary edema and hemorrhagic pneumonia meningitis and hemorrhage in the brain sometimes incubation can be really low even with high doses

Question 38

Does Bacillus typically infect from animal to animal?

Answer 38

No- not unless you have a lot of infected carcasses around

Question 39

What kind of sera can help alleviate disease?

Answer 39

Hyper immune sera

Question 40

What kind of vaccine can be used that lacks the pX02 plasmid?

Answer 40

Sterne strain vaccine

Question 41

True/False: Field necrospsys should be performed on carcasses

Answer 41

False: NO FIELD NECROPSY- you will expose yourself and the environment

Question 42

What stain is used to detect Bacillus?

Answer 42

McFadyeans methylene blue - you can see the capsule

Question 43

Picture of Bacillus anthracis to know

Answer 43

Question 44

Bacillus is a facultative anaerobe, when it is aerobic and doesn't form a capsule what appreance does it have on growth media?

Answer 44

medusa head

Question 45

What test is characterized by blebbing?

Answer 45

String of Pearl test

Question 46

What thermopreciptation test is very specific for bacillus anthracis?

Answer 46

Ascoli Test

Question 47

What is the treatment for Bacillus?

Answer 47

antimicrobial treatment with antiserum - Penicillin G animals are isolated and treated- quarantined for 3 weeks

Question 48

Bacillu causes a _____ disease

Answer 48

Reportable incinerate the carcass