SPIROCHETES Flashcards by LUIMER RAMOS

Q

Motile, long, slender, helically curved, gram-negative bacilli

A

SPIROCHETES

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Q

They have an unusual morphologic feature of axial fibrils and outer sheath

A

Fibrils/axial filaments – flagellalike organelles that wrap around
the bacteria‘s cell wa

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Q

flagella-like organelles that wrap around
the bacteria‘s cell wall

A

Fibrils/axial filaments

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Q

Enclosed within the
outer sheath, and
facilitate motility
(corkscrew-like winding)
of the organism

A

SPIROCHETES

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Q

platelike
structures where fibrils are
attached, located near the ends
of the cell

A

insertion disk

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Q

derived from the Greek owed meaning “turning thread”

A

TREPONEMA

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Q

it has 6 – 10 axial filaments and 1 insertion disk

A

TREPONEMA

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Q

how many axial filaments and insertion disk does treponema have?

A

6 – 10 axial filaments and 1 insertion disk

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Q

infect only humans and have not been cultivated for more than one passage in vitro

A

Treponema

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Q

they are killed rapidly at 42C and are used as a basis for syphilis therapy
- they remain visible in whole blood or plasma for at least 24 hours, which is of potential
importance in blood transfusion

A

Treponema

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Q

2 types of Antibodies of Treponema

A

Treponemal Antibodies
Non-treponemal (reagin) antibodies

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Q

Most species of treponema stain poorly in?

A

Gram’s Stain and Giemsa’s Method

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Q

Treponema is best observed with the use of?

A

Dark-field or phase-contrast microscopy

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Q

Etiologic agent of syphilis

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

Fine spiral organism with 3 periplasmic flagella

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

Appears white against a dark background
- Microaerophilic and survives longer in the presence of 3-5% oxygen

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

This organism enters the host by either penetrating intact mucous membrane or entering
through breaks in the skin
o Not highly contagious

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

Has a remarkable tropism (attraction) to arterioles – infection leads to endarteritis

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

They die rapidly on drying and susceptible to disinfectants
- Generation time: 30 hours

A

Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum

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Q

French disease/ Italian disease/ the great pox
Also known as the “great imitator” because it can copy and assume many clinical
manifestations

A

Syphilis

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Q

A disease of blood vessels and of the perivascular areas
It can cross the placenta
It is transmitted by direct/sexual contact or congenital

A

Syphilis

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Q

It is characterized by chancre, fever, sore throat, headache and rash (palms and
soles), gummas in skin, neurosyphilis

A

Syphilis

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Q

– a single erythematous, painless lesion that is non-tender and
firm with a clean surface and raised border

A

Chancre –

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Q

Stages of Syphilis:
Characterized by the appearance of a chancre (hunterial
chancre) usually at the site of inoculation, most commonly the
genitalia
o Within 3 – 6 weeks, the chancre heals
o Dissemination of the organism occurs during this stage
o This stage is highly contagious

A

Primary Syphilis

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Stages of Syphilis: o Starts when the organism reached a sufficient number, after 2 – 24 weeks o Fever, weight loss, malaise, loss of appetite and skin rashes o skin rash spreads from the palms and soles towards the trunk

Secondary syphilis

Stages of Syphilis: condylomas develop at the anogenital region, axilla and mouth rash lasts 2 – 6 weeks A period of latency follows lasting for several years

Secondary syphilis

The stage wherein the disease becomes subclinical but not necessarily dormant Diagnosis can be made only be serologic tests

Latent stage

Stages of Syphilis: o It is the tissue destructive stage-highly disfiguring o Appears 10 – 25 years after the initial infection o Complications arise at this stage – central nervous system disease, cardiovascular abnormalities, eye disease, granulomalike lesions (gummas)

Tertiary stage

Stages of Syphilis: affects all parts of the body  cardiovascular and neuromuscular are most common cause of death Gummas- large granulomas resulting from hypersensitivity reactions

Tertiary stage

Stains used to detect treponema

Levaditti‘s Impregnation Stain and Fontana Tribondeau

Non-treponemal flocculation tests:

 Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test  Rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test  Automated Reagin test (ART)  Wasserman, Kolmer test

Treponemal tests:

FTA-ABS MHA-TP Treponema pallidum Hemagglutination (TPHA) Treponema pallidum Immobilization (TPI)

Treponemal Test: performed by overlaying whole treponemes that are fixed to a slide with serum from patients suspected of having syphilis because of previous (+) VDRL or RPR test

FTA-ABS

Treponemal Test: – utilize RBC from a turkey or other animal that are coated with treponemal antigens (+) formation of flat mat across the bottom of the microdilution well

MHA-TP

Etiologic agent of Yaws/Frambesia Tropicana/ parangi/ paru/bua/bouba - Traumatized skin comes in contact with an infected lesion

Treponema pallidum subsp. Pertenue

a nonvenereal infection, characterized by chronic ulcerative sores anywhere on the body with eventual tissue and bone destruction leading to crippling if untreated

Yaws –

Lesions: Mother of yaws/ frambesia

Primary Lesion

Lesions: Daughter of yaws

Secondary lesion

Lesions: Gangosa

Tertiary Lesions

Causative agent of pinta/carate/mal del pinto/azul common in tropical America

Treponema carateum

Infection of the skin o lesions heal slowly unlike syphilis and yaws o Primary lesion is a slowly enlarging painless papule on the hands, scalp and feet with regional lymph node enlargement followed in 1-12 months by a generalized red to slateblue macular rash

Pinta

Causative agent of endemic non-venereal syphilis/bejel

Treponema pallidum subsp. Endemicum

transmitted by direct contact with active lesions and contaminated fingers

Bejel

Blood spirochetes

BORRELIA

Composed of 3 – 10 loose coils and are actively motile

BORRELIA

Stains well with Giemsa stain; slow growing spirochetes. - Species that have grown in vitro are microaerophilic

BORRELIA

Has 30-40 axial filaments and 2 insertion disks.

BORRELIA

Agent of louseborne or Epidemic relapsing fever/ European relapsing fever

Borrrelia Recurrentis

Transmitted by Pediculus humanus (louse)

Borrrelia Recurrentis

Humans are the only reservoir.

Borrrelia Recurrentis

Agents of tickborne relapsing fever/ Endemic or American Relapsing feve

Borrelia hersmii/ B. turicatae/ B. dutoni / B. Parkeri

Transmitted via tick bites – Ornithodoros (soft ticks)

Borrelia hersmii/ B. turicatae/ B. dutoni / B. Parkeri

Agents of Lyme disease

Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu stricto), B. garinii, B. afzelii

Transmitted by the bite of Ixodes ticks – Ixodes pacificus, Ixodes dammini (deer ticks), Ixodes persulcatus Deer and rodents (Peromyscus leucopus – white-footed mouse) – ticks‘ natural hosts

Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu stricto), B. garinii, B. afzelii

It is maintained in the environment by horizontal transmission from infected nymphal ticks.

Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu stricto), B. garinii, B. afzelii

An acute infectious disease marked by recurrent febrile episodes; it has 2-10 relapses. - Fever, headache, myalgia 2-15 days after infection

Relapsing Fever

An acute, recurrent inflammatory infection involving the large joints like the knees, with local inflammation and swelling. - It was first observed and described in 1975 among people of Old Lyme. Connecticut, USA.

Lyme disease

3 stages of lyme disease: characteristics red, ring-shaped lesion w/ a central clearing. - appears at the site of the tick bite but may also develop at other sites. - signs and symptoms: headache, fever, muscle, joint pain and malaise

First Stage – Erythema Migrans

microscopy can be used for detection in blood cultures after 2-3 weeks of incubation at 34-37C

Darkfield

For tissue section of Lyme disease what stain can be used?

Warthin-starry stain

For blood and CSF of Lyme disease, what stain can be used?

Acridine Orange and Giemsa Stain

important in diagnosis of B. burgdorferi DNA in urine.

Polymerase chain reaction

Culture media for Lyme Disease?

Keller's medium or chick embryo

Lyme disease serodiagnosis

Immunofluoresence Assay (IFA), Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western Blot

The standard method for diagnostic testing for Lyme Disease

Serology

Serodiagnosis for Relapsing FEver

Increased titers to Proteus OX K antigens (up to 1:80)

Tightly coiled, thin, flexible, obligate aerobic spirochete; spimming motility.

LEPTOSPIRA

Often seen as a chain of cocci (dark-field microscope)

LEPTOSPIRA

Have "question mark-like" shape.

LEPTOSPIRA

Organisms have books rather than tapering off. - Live in the lumen of the renal tubules (shed info the urine). - Can survive in neutral or slightly alkaline waters for months - Can be grown in artificial media.

LEPTOSPIRA

Hamsters and guinea pigs are the animal of choice for cultivation

LEPTOSPIRA

A zoonotic disease in human caused by L. interrogans.

Leptospirosis/Infectious Jaundice

A pretibial rash has been associated with serovar autumnalis (ft. Bragg fever)

Leptospirosis/Infectious Jaundice

2 syndrome of leptospirosis: Septicemic stage, high fever and severe headache (3-7 days) followed by the immune stage. Hallmark of immune stage is aseptic meningitis.

Anicteric Leptospirosis

2 Syndromes of leptospirosis: Severe form of illness characterized by liver, kidney and or vascular dysfunction.  Death can occur in up to 10% of cases

Icteric Leptospirosis/ Well Syndrome

can be differentiated from pathogens by their ability to grow to 10C and lower.

Saprophytes

standard procedure using living cells.

Microscopic Agglutination (MA) –