Lecture 7 - Bacterial diarrhoea Flashcards
what are the symptoms of acute gastrointestinal illness?
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
- abdominal pain
- fever
what is dysentery?
bloody diarrhoea
what bacteria causes can lead to AGI?
- campylobacter
- cholera
- clostridioides difficile
- salmonella
- E coli
- etc
what causes lead to AGI in total?
- bacteria (common)
- viral
- protozoal
- toxin (staph aureus, non-microbial)
what are the sources or routes of transmission?
contaminated food, water or direct or indirect contact with feces
what is the most common microbial cause of diarrhoeal disease in NZ?
campylobacteriosis (~6000 cases per year)
how many children get diarrhoea disease each year?
1.7 billion, and 500,000 die
how many cases are there of cholera worldwide each year?
between 1.7-4 million, and 20,000 to 143,000 deaths
what is cholera rice water stool?
when profuse diarrhoea is so watery it looks like water rice had been boiled in
is cholera prevalent in new zealand?
no, there is hardly any cholera cases in NZ
what does vomiting and diarrhoea due to cholera lead to?
dehydration, often severe
where is cholera’s resevior?
in shellfish in waters and human carriers
how does transmission of cholera occur?
human carriers (feces into water - contamination)
- can be asymptomatic
or eat the shellfish of course
describe the colonisation of cholera
- survives passage through stomach
- colonises intestine, aided by a pilus for attachment
- produces toxin AB5
- stimulates Cl- secretion: secretory diarrhoea
what is the incubation period of cholera?
anywhere between 12h and 5 days
what is an infectious dose of cholera?
an infectious dose is between 10^5 and 10^8 CFU, but may be lower if stomach acid is not produced (food scarcity)
symptoms of cholera?
- vomiting
- rice water stools
- dehydration
how do we diagnose cholera?
- rice water stools very telltale symptom
- selective agar (TCBS)
- PCR tests (quicker)
- rapid diagnostic tests (quickest)
how does the selective agar select for cholera?
- high concentrations of thiosulphate and citrate inhibit enteric bacteria
- bile salts inhibit gram +ve bacteria
- TCBs select for vibrios such as cholera
how does the selective agar differentiate cholera?
- the agar plate contains sucrose and an indicator. when cholera ferments the sucrose, the pH drops and the green turns to yellow
- results overnight
how can a gram stain be used to diagnose cholera?
gram staining the rice water stools shows red curved rods
- gram negative bacilli
what are rapid diagnostic tests for vibrio cholerae and why are they not very reliable?
- dipstick which changes colour in presence of cholera
- high rate of false negatives
what are the treatment aims?
- oral rehydration therapy (or IV drip if severe)
- prevent the spread with good hygiene and sanitation
role of antibiotics in cholera?
recommended in severe cases
also in moderate cases if an epidemic
(cheap and bacteriocidic, but must be used after vomiting phase to retain)