Opportunistic Infections

Question 1

Features of Psuedomonas

Answer 1

• Gram negative rod
• Motile
• Non-spore
• Anaerobes or facultative anaerobes
• Non- fermenting
• Catalase and oxidase +ve
• some species- e.g. p. aeruginosa release pigments
• low nutritional requirements

Question 2

Ps. aeruginosa and CF

Answer 2

• often colonises in resp tract of CF pts.

- intrinsically resistant to many commonly used ABs

Question 3

Environment that psuedomonas. aeruginosa likes

Answer 3

• Moist (think ps. aeruginosa is kind of blue, so moisture)

- Transiently colonises skin, gut, mucous membranes

Question 4

ps. aeruginosa= important nosocomial pathogen, what is it associated with?

Answer 4

• Used to be burns and febrile neutropenia

- Now mainly pneumonia, UTI and sepsis

Question 5

How is ps. aeruginosa spread?

Answer 5

• Infections acquired mainly from environment
• spread in hospitals (hands and fomites)
• some strains spread b/w CF pts
• All strains are intrinsically weakly resistant to many ABs and disinfectants

Question 6

Resistance

Answer 6

• Intrinsic

- Readily acquired from other bacteria