Microbiology 5-6 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Microbiology 5-6 Deck (22)
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1
Q

How can viruses be transmitted?

A
  • Respiratory (droplets)
  • Faecal-oral tract
  • Contact
  • Zoonoses
  • Blood
  • Sexual contact
  • Maternal-neonatal
  • Germ-line
2
Q

What is iatrogenic transmission?

A

Passed on by a healthcare worker.

3
Q

What is nosocomial transmission?

A

Caught in hospital (hospital-acquired infection)

4
Q

What is horizontal transmission?

A

From person to person.

5
Q

What can persistent infections lead to?

A

Oncogenesis/cancer.

6
Q

Where do persistent infections normally reside?

A

Hard-to-reach places such as the skin and nervous system.

e.g. Varicella-zoster virus resides in the dorsal root ganglions

7
Q

How does cancer develop from persistent infections?

A

Viruses can interfere with the cell cycle to enhance their own replication. This can cause unregulated growth, leading to tumour growth.
e.g. HPV (cervical cancer) and Hep C (hepatocellular carcinoma)

8
Q

What does HTLV-1 cause?

A

Adult leukaemia

9
Q

What can the Epstein-Barr virus cause?

A

Burkitts and Hodgkins lymphoma (confection with other viruses)

10
Q

Where does the EPV remain latent?

A

B cells (95% of the population are infected with this virus)

11
Q

What factors affect the outcome of a viral infection?

A
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Host genetics
  • Other medications
  • Viral load
  • Viral sequence (strain)
  • Host immune response stays
  • Host co-morbidity
  • Co-infections
12
Q

What is prophylaxis?

A

Preventing disease before the aetiological agent infects the host.

13
Q

Why was the eradication of smallpox a success?

A
  • No animal reservoir so easier to isolate
  • Easily recognisable disease
  • No latent or persistent infection
  • No resistance to vaccine
  • Lost cost
  • Heat stability of vaccine
  • Easy administration of vaccine
14
Q

What is attenuated vaccine?

A

A live virus that is initially injected into monkey to promote mutations so that it loses its ability to fully induce disease in humans when injected.

15
Q

What is a fractionated vaccine?

A

Non-recombinant, purified subunits of a vaccine. Only safe/effective for short durations.

16
Q

What is Rotarix?

A

Rotavirus vaccine using live, attenuated re-assortment vaccine

17
Q

When is Rotarix administered and why?

A

To babies 15 weeks or younger as it has been shown to cause bowel blockages in babies 3 months or older.

18
Q

What is the shingles vaccine and who is it available to?

A

Live attenuated virus that is similar to the chickenpox vaccine. Available to those aged between 70 and 78.

19
Q

How was Ebola treated?

A
  • GSK vaccine (chimpanzee adenovirus)
  • Merck vaccine (vesicular stomatitis virus)
  • Serum therapy (blood from survivors)
  • Monoclonal antibodies
20
Q

What do interferons do?

A

Induce the host’s natural antiviral response.

21
Q

What are the mechanisms targeted by HIV medications?

A
  • Protease inhibitors
  • Fusion and entry inhibitors
  • Integrase inhibitors
  • Nucleoside/nucleotide analogues
  • Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
22
Q

What is Baloxavir used to treat?

A

Influenza (targets polymerase and decreases viral shedding)